Identification mix-ups are far more common than you may think Last week a Referral Hearing was held into the circumstances that led to the wrong horse running in a novice chase at Punchestown on 13 November. Trainer Enda Bolger was fined €2,000 and his horse Don't Tell Jack was disqualified from the race "as it was proved to be (his stablemate) Centreofattention who participated in the race." The only reason this incident came to light in the first place was because the Punchestown fixture was one at which the IHRB carried out a second check of horses' microchips after the horses were saddled up and about to enter the parade ring. The IHRB only carries out this second microchip scan when resources are available. Two cases in nine days Quite remarkably, on the very same day of the Punchestown Hearing, the Referral Committee also heard a similar case relating to a race at Dundalk on 5 November. Two cases of mistaken identity occurred within the space of 9 days last month. On that afternoon at Dundalk the IHRB were carrying out the second microchip check when they found another two horses that had been mixed up. Waystar, a four-year-old Bay filly, and Together Aclaim, a six-year-old Bay gelding with a distinguishing white mark on his forehead and three white socks, had been mistaken for each other by the staff attending them and each had the other's saddle and number cloth on. The two horses, both trained by John McConnell, were about to enter the parade ring when the IHRB microchip scan identified the problem. Both horses were then resaddled correctly and allowed to take part in the race, but an enquiry was subsequently held into the matter and the trainer was fined €200 under the assumption this was his first such offence. A pattern of problems It later transpired that this was the third time in the last twelve months that horses trained by John McConnell have been found to have had their identities mistaken by staff representing him at the races and the matter resulted in the Referral Hearing last week where his fine was increased to €1,000. There was another case at the Galway Festival this summer when two horses trained by Ciaran Murphy were discovered to have been saddled incorrectly prior to running in a one mile handicap. Again it was the second scan of the microchips that alerted the authorities of the issue. That is five separate instances of mistaken identity of horses that we know of, in the last twelve months, all discovered by the second microchip check after the horses had been saddled. "When resources allow a second scan takes place prior to horses entering the parade ring and this currently occurs at approximately one in four race meetings." IHRB staff check the identity of every horse when it first arrives into the stableyard at a race meeting, but at 75% of race meetings that is the only time that the horses have their microchips scanned. Article highlights: Five known cases of horse identity mix-ups have been discovered in the past year Second microchip scans that catch these errors only happen at 25% of race meetings By statistical probability, as many as 15 additional cases may have gone undetected This indicates that by the law of averages the IHRB could have missed another 15 cases of mistaken identity in the last year alone. Imagine that, 20 times a year a horse running in a race in Ireland may not actually be the horse it's supposed to be. This really is shocking stuff. The Tipperary all-weather track risk Changing the subject, I can't help thinking that this new all-weather track in Tipperary is a very risky venture for the sport to be engaged in at this time. According to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, he has given "consent to HRI to enter into a commercial loan facility for €34 million to fund the development of phase one of an all-weather track at Tipperary." Presuming the repayments on this loan will be somewhere in the region of €2 million a year - the figure could be considerably higher as the asset being built can never be resold by the financial institution lending the money - this puts a significant burden on the sport moving forward. Each year, when HRI draws down its annual funding from the Government, €2 million or more will have to be put aside for the Tipperary loan. Financial feasibility concerns I presume HRI's business case for the new all-weather track was based on 50 or more race meetings taking place there annually. The Media Rights money generated from that number of fixtures would more or less cover the loan repayments. But can the sport handle an additional 50 race meetings a year? The current level of annual fixtures will remain static in 2026 for the third year in a row because the number of horses in training is not sufficient to justify any increase. Maybe HRI intends to simply reallocate Dundalk fixtures to the Munster track, or perhaps switch some turf fixtures to the all-weather venue, neither of which would go down well with the other racecourses, but either way it seems extremely unlikely that the annual fixture list can grow by 50 or more race meetings in the near future. Even if the plan is to increase the number of annual fixtures significantly, where is prize money going to come from? Alternative approach needed? To my mind HRI should have sought private investment in the Tipperary project. That way, if the venture wasn't a commercial success, the sport itself would be insulated from any potential negative outcome. The amount of money being wagered on horse racing is already in decline and the recent tax hikes in the UK for online betting operators are likely to have a negative impact on future Media Rights deals and race sponsorships. Now may not be the best time for the sport to be borrowing large sums of money. With horse racing's financial model so dependent on gambling related revenues it might be prudent to wait and see what the fallout is from the UK tax changes before turning a sod in Tipperary.
