Horse Racing Ireland (HRI; ga, Rásaíocht Capaill na hÉireann) is the governing body of

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is based in the

Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside th ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the count ...

, next to the racecourse of that name. HRI was founded in 2001, succeeding the Irish Horseracing Authority, itself the 1994 successor to the Racing Board founded in 1945. HRI's mission statement is "to develop and promote Ireland as a world centre of excellence for horse racing and breeding". Like most other sports, horse racing is run on an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

basis, so HRI is responsible for racing in both the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

, which has 24 racecourses, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, which has two racecourses. The remit of the

British Horseracing Authority The British Horseracing Authority, also known simply as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain. It was formed on 31 July 2007, after the merger of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Horseracing Regulato ...

does not extend to Northern Ireland. In April 2020 the then-

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of HRI, Brian Kavanagh, said that with the benefit of hindsight the 2020

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

should not have taken place.

Business

In addition to fulfilling regulatory and promotional functions, HRI owns

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of ...

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...

and Tipperary racecourses. The group's chairperson since May 2018 has been

Nicky Hartery Nicholas Hartery (born May 1951) is an Irish businessman, the chairman of CRH plc. Hartery has been the Chairman of CRH plc since 2012 and a board member since 2004, and a non-executive director of Musgrave Group and Eircom. He is the current c ...

and its CEO is Suzanne Eade, who succeeded Brian Kavanagh in September 2021. The industry contributes significantly to the Irish economy. Figures released by HRI showed that bloodstock sales, Tote betting and racecourse attendances produced significant growth in 2011, marking a positive upturn for the industry which had suffered severe contraction since 2007 across almost all areas. In 2004 this contribution was estimated to be in the region of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

330 million.

References

External links

Horse Racing Ireland Official website
{{Horse racing in Ireland 2001 establishments in Ireland Horse racing in Ireland Horse racing organizations

Horse Racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland Sports organizations established in 2001