HRI

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) announced the launch of its Sustainability Strategy 2024 'Racing towards a better world'. The strategy, which supports Ireland's Climate Action Plan and the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, identifies the role HRI will play in the change in sustainability across the organisation, while also providing guidance and support to the industry. "HRI is committed to fostering an industry-wide culture of sustainability," said Roger Casey, Chief Financial Officer, HRI. "We also want to support the industry to increase its understanding and delivery of sustainability priorities through practical...

Racing fans may now vote for the Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) Ride of the Year Award, HRI announced on Wednesday. The winner of the online poll will be revealed at the HRI Awards on Monday, Dec. 4. The six rides were picked by Fran Berry and Davy Russell and are as follows: Ride 1: Danny Gilligan - Ash Tree Meadow - Tote Galway Plate - Galway, Aug. 2. Ride 2: Amy Jo Hayes - Redstone Well - Irish Stallion Farms EBF "Nasrullah" Premier H. - Leopardstown, July 13. Ride 3:...

The nominees for the 2023 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) Awards have been revealed. The HRI Awards will take place early next month in Dublin. A total of 43 nominees were made for the HRI Awards, which are as follows:   Horse of the Year: Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}) Energumene (Fr) (Denham Red {Fr}) State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr})   National Hunt Award: Paul Townend Willie Mullins Gordon Elliott Barry Connell   Flat Award:...

Colin Keane retains the title of Irish Champion Jockey, his fourth in succession and fifth overall, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Thursday. Joining Keane on the podium will be Aidan O'Brien and Sue Magnier, who also retain their titles of trainer and owner, respectively, while Jamie Powell is favoured to earn the Irish Champion Apprentice title. Keane earned his championship by riding to an unassailable lead in late August. He celebrated group wins aboard Zarinsk (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) on three occasions. In addition, he also rode Group 3 winners for...

Involved since the organisation's founding in 1991, Goffs Chairman Eimear Mulhern will step down from the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Committee, it was announced Thursday. At Goffs Thursday, Mulhern was presented with a memento from HRI CEO Suzanne Eade, HRI Director of Bloodstock and Equine Welfare John Osborne, and ITM Chairman Dermot Cantillon. A joint statement read, "All at ITM and HRI offer Eimear their sincere thanks for her many years of dedicated service to the Irish industry."

Horses purchased for €1,000 up to €70,000 are among the 51 entries eligible for the €120,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final at Naas Oct. 15. The Irish EBF is the largest sponsor of races in Ireland. "It's hard to win 2-year-old races in Ireland but this series is a great initiative," trainer Noel Meade said. "The races are worth good money and to have the final at the end of it, it really is great. It is nice to be able to say to somebody that we have these...

Horse Racing Ireland boss Suzanne Eade has put attendance figures towards the top of her priority list for the remainder of 2023 and hailed the resilience of owners against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis as the six-month statistics were revealed on Thursday.  Attendances have climbed 7.6% to 544,147 for the first six months of the year while sponsorship rose 4.8% to €4.4m with horses winning overall prize money of €30.6m. That is up 1% on last year's corresponding figures, despite a reduction in the number of race...

Horse racing will become part of the annual celebration of American College Football in Ireland featuring a Stars and Stripes themed race night at Leopardstown Racecourse after a three-year partnership was announced between Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The 2023 edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game, featuring Notre Dame versus Navy at a sold out Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 26, is estimated to be worth €147 million to the Irish economy. The Leopardstown race night is one of approximately 50...

All 26 Irish racecourses have approved the Racecourse Media Group (RMB)/SIS Media Rights deal and have authorised the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) to sign the contracts on their behalf, AIR announced on Friday. The deal will begin on Jan. 1, 2024. In May, 21 of the racecourses agreed to the deal, with Kilbeggan, Roscommon, Sligo, Limerick and Thurles Racecourses rejecting it. This week, discussions were held with AIR and the HRI Media Rights Committee, which resulted in the quintet of outliers agreeing to the proposal. Chairman of AIR, Conor...

The racing and breeding industry delivered €2.46bn to the Irish economy in 2022, according to a survey undertaken by Deloitte and commissioned by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI). This figure represents a rise of 34% since 2016, while the number of jobs supported by the sector has also increased during that time, by 1,450, to a total of 30,350. Of that total economic impact, €819m is generated by the breeding industry, €264m is spent by owners in the training and running of horses, and a further €193m comes through on- and...

The new media rights arrangements for 21 of the 26 Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) was unanimously approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Friday. This new agreement is for a period of five years beginning in 2024.The HRI Board welcomed the unanimous approval of the AIR Board for this deal and the authorisation for AIR to conclude contractual arrangements for 21 of its 26 member racecourses. The completion of the sale of the media rights for 21 racecourses as well as HRI's data rights for all...

Most key statistics for the Irish Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry showed significant gains when compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, as the full-year statistics were released by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Thursday. In the areas of ownership (+17.1%, 4,757), horses-in-training (10,208, +14.1% on 2019), Tote betting (total Tote betting rose +18.3%), and bloodstock sales (€215.4m, +30.3% on 2019 and +17.8% on 2021), figures are well over 2019's. Owner retention rate is now 72.8%, with the number of syndicates increasing for the fourth consecutive year to 825 (+3.4%...