Stewards' apathy could be symptom of deeper regulatory problems A brief stewards' report on an innocuous maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse on 15 January indicates serious issues within the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). It was the sort of big field maiden race we see regularly in Ireland, where the fancied horses race at the front of the field and the rest of the runners follow on at a safe distance. The betting suggested that the race could be safely boiled down to two contenders from the Willie Mullins stable, French import Roc Dino (2/5 - 6/4) and a JP McManus-owned point-to-point recruit, Mighty Park (5/2 - 8/13 favourite), which got into the race as second reserve. Unsurprisingly, both horses raced prominently in the contest and in the end the gambled-on Mighty Park coasted home with 38 lengths to spare over his stablemate, Roc Dino, in second. The Curious Case of "No Comment" The raceday stewards showed a degree of concern about the running and riding of another McManus-owned runner in the race, the eventual distant fourth-placed finisher Agameoftwohalves, and subsequently tasked one of their stipendiary stewards to interview this horse's rider Danny Gilligan. Agameoftwohalves was having his third qualifying run to attain a handicap rating and like the majority of runners in this maiden hurdle field was never involved, but did stay on out of the pack to finish fourth, some 64 lengths by the winner. What is most unusual here is Gilligan's response to the stewards' query. Normally a rider will offer a variety of excuses as to why their mount appeared to finish with running left or why they may not have attained the best possible finishing position and the stewards will then determine whether or not to sanction the rider, the horse and the trainer. In this instance Danny Gilligan didn't offer any excuse and according to the brief stewards' report issued on the day he had "no comment to make." This is very odd considering that as recently as 17 November at Navan the raceday stewards held an enquiry into the running and riding of another horse ridden by Gilligan. On that occasion the rider had no issues with engaging with the authorities and gave a detailed explanation in relation to his riding of Gunnery Sergeant in another big field maiden hurdle. At Navan Gilligan "stated that his instructions were to jump off mid division, get into a rhythm and give his mount the best chance of running to his full potential over today's longer distance and testing ground," but two months later he hasn't engaged with the process at all. Article highlights: A jockey's "no comment" response to stewards' inquiry represents unprecedented disregard for racing authorities The IHRB appears to be struggling with 13 outstanding doping cases, some dating back to June 2024 No action was taken against the rider despite this clear undermining of regulatory authority Prize money in Irish racing is set to increase to €85 million by 2028 Regulatory Breakdown? Giving no comment to a member of the press is one thing and even taking the same stance with the horse's owner or trainer is a private matter between them. But doing this in direct response to an official request from the regulatory body to explain his riding of Agameoftwohalves in this maiden hurdle is altogether different. This appears to me to be the equivalent of sticking two fingers up the authorities and is unacceptable behaviour from any licensed individual, but most bizarrely this response appears to have been reasonably well received by the Fairyhouse stewards. The stewards took no action against the rider and did not refer the matter on to a senior official for further investigation. The Fairyhouse stewards were willing to accept this as a valid response despite it clearly undermining their role in regulating the sport. How can IHRB officials police the sport if licensed individuals refuse to engage with them? And how can the betting public have any confidence in the regulators if they are willing to turn a blind eye to this type of insolence? Deeper Issues at Play The fact that the horse in question is owned by JP McManus would initially appear to be of significance, but there are probably more fundamental issues at play. The IHRB has been fighting a number of legal challenges over the past year and it is beginning to look as if this may now be taking a significant toll on their resources. The investigation into the Redwood Queen case at Wexford last May took over six months to complete, yet managed to unearth no new evidence. The subsequent Referral Hearing into the matter was heard on 15 December, but we are still awaiting a verdict. There are currently 13 outstanding cases of adverse analytical findings (mainly winners that tested positive for prohibited substances) dating back as far as June 2024 and no sign of any of them being resolved any time soon. One case has been so long sitting in limbo within the IHRB that the same horse has gone on to fail a second doping test, a year after the first, and still no resolution to either of them. The regulatory body appears to be grinding to a halt and maybe the apparent apathy by the Fairyhouse stewards is simply an acknowledgement of the internal struggles back at headquarters. Prize Money Developments Changing the subject, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has published the details of the additional €4.3 million which they recently announced was going into prize money this year. It is positive to see a reasonably good spread of the money across all tiers of the sport and also to find out that less than half of this money is coming directly from HRI. The majority of the money (€2.3 million) will be made up from: Increased contributions from the racecourses The Irish European Breeders Fund A 10% rise in the cost of entering a horse across most categories of races All relevant stakeholders have engaged with this process and there appears to be general consensus that prize money is a top priority. HRI's plan is to continue to boost prize money by similar amounts in each of the next two years, bringing total prize money levels up to €85 million by 2028.
