Association of Irish Racecourses

Coursetrack, an in-race timing information system, has been successfully installed at 25 Irish racecourses, the company announced on Friday. The data began being broadcasted on-screen and published online for 25 Irish racecourses since the start of the year. Coursetrack worked closely with Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) and each individual course during the installation process. The system is operated by Racecourse Media Group (RMG)'s timing partners, Coursetrack. Horses carry GPS trackers, designed to fit within the saddlecloth, during the race. In-race data for all races...

A new €1-million Equine Care Racecourse Capital Development Scheme to further enhance racecourse safety measures was launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) on Thursday. Two initial areas are being targeted by the new scheme. The first improvement is to have identification markers on all hurdles and fences at the 23 racecourses staging jump racing will be converted from orange to white in line with best international practice, and there will be a linked move away from the traditional birch hurdles to non-birch hurdles by the end of 2025. The second...

Starting in 2024, all 26 Irish Racecourses will have live in-race timing information for all races broadcast on-screen and published online, the Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR), Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) announced on Friday. The feature is part of the recently concluded media rights renewal between the organizations. The system is operated by RMG's timing partners, Coursetrack. Runners will carry lightweight GPS trackers designed to fit within the saddlecloths and transmit data directly to a centralised operation at Racing TV's London...

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 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...

Paul Hensey has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) and begins his role later this month. He will replace Paddy Walsh, who is retiring after over two decades in the position, on Mar. 31. Hensey was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Al Shaqab Racing, and he also worked with the Turf Club for six years. Previously, he also spent almost 15 years managing the Curragh Racecourse and training grounds and was also a member of AIR. He served two...

Paddy Walsh, chief executive officer of the Association of Irish Racecourses, has said his "members are frustrated" as tracks continue to be restricted to very limited crowds. While British racecourses are back at full capacity and other sports and sectors in Ireland are seeing restrictions eased, Irish racecourses remain limited to 500 patrons, with exceptions made to allow 1,000 at the Irish Derby meeting and the Galway Festival. Horse Racing Ireland is seeking exceptions to allow larger crowds at next month's Harvest Festival at Listowel and Irish Champions Weekend, and...