IHRB

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board [IHRB] revealed to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday morning that its chief financial officer Donal O'Shea is taking what the organisation described as "voluntary leave" after serious financial irregularities came to light this week.  The news was delivered by the IHRB chief Darragh O'Loughlin, who was before the PAC to discuss the circumstances around the early retirement of his predecessor Denis Egan and other costs. However, O'Loughlin dropped the bombshell news in his opening statement, and revealed that in preparation for his meeting...

Trainer Ronan McNally lost his appeal against his disqualification for breaching racing's integrity rules, however, was granted a four-year reprieve from his original record 12-year suspension. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) published the verdict of an appeals body panel Wednesday evening. The panel was chaired by Justice Peter Kelly. The suspension of the final four years of the disqualification is contingent on adhering to the rules, a breach of which would reinstate the full sentence. McNally's penalties-including the 12-year suspension, charges of €50,000 and the return of €13,000 in...

Entries are now open for the Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Naas Racecourse scheduled for Monday, May 29. The trials, restricted to unraced juveniles and 3-year-olds, are operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by the Irish European Breeders' Fund (IEBF) and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The 2023 edition will be back on turf for the first time since 2019, and all the trials will be conducted over six and seven furlongs. Notable graduates of the trials include Group 1 winner A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot...

Trainer Charles Byrnes was hit with a massive €6,000 fine under the non-triers' rule following the running of Ellaat (GB) (Heeraat {Ire}) in a low-grade handicap on the Flat at Gowran Park on Wednesday evening. He was found to have breached the Rule 212A (i) by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) stewards who also slapped his jockey Gearoid Brouder with a 21-day suspension. Ellaat was also banned from running for 90 days. It is not the first time the multiple Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer has felt the wrath of Irish...

Official Starter for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, Joe Banahan is hugely passionate about breeding, and from a small but select broodmare band, his family have enjoyed notable success on the Flat from their Moortown House Stud base near Navan. Joe's parents Percy and Elaine have recently passed away but, along with his wife Edel, he has carried on the proud family tradition in breeding. In this week's Starfield Stud-sponsored Q&A, Banahan, a former jockey, reveals how he became infatuated with breeding, what he aims to achieve from Moortown House...

Trainer Ronan McNally has been disqualified from Irish racing for 12 years, charged €50,000 in costs and ordered to return over €13,000 in prize-money after being found guilty of multiple sanctions by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.  McNally was found to have conspired with fellow trainer David Dunne to conceal his ownership of Full Noise and All Class, for which, Dunne has been hit with a two-year ban for bringing racing into disrepute.  Dunne was also handed a €5,000 fine and ordered to forfeit his prize-money which was deemed to...

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has issued an apology to trainer Paddy Twomey, jockey Wayne Lordan and owner Robert Moran over an error to the weighing out process of Rosscarbery (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) that led to the filly being disqualified from finishing third in the G1 Pretty Polly S. at the Curragh back in June. Rosscarbery justified Twomey's decision to supplement at a cost of €30,000 for that Group 1 contest when running a gallant third behind stablemate La Petite Coco (Ire) (Ruler Of The World).  However, she...

The initial session of Irish EBF Barrier Trials gets underway July 5 at Dundalk Stadium. Beginning at 1p.m. (local time), a total of 10 Trials are scheduled, comprised of tests for unraced 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds over five-seven furlongs. Operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by Irish EBF and the IHRB, Trials are principally serve as formative trials for inexperienced horses. Notable Trial graduates include G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner A Case Of You (Ire) and G3 Gordon S. scorer Ottoman Emperor (Ire). Trials are available to view on...

Entries are open for Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Dundalk Stadium, to be held Tuesday, July 5, beginning at noon (local time). Operated by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) and backed by Irish EBF and the IHRB, Trials are open to unraced 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds and are run over five to seven furlongs. Trials, principally staged to offer a platform for unraced Irish Thoroughbreds, also serve as a learning experience for inexperienced horses. Notable Trial graduates include Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint winner A Case Of You (Ire) and Group 3...

Paddy Twomey has admitted that the disqualification of Rosscarbery (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) from third spot in Sunday's Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly S. after her rider Wayne Lordan weighed in 5lbs light took the gloss off the fact that he recorded his first Group 1 success in the race with La Petite Coco (Ire) (Ruler Of The World {Ire}). The trainer described himself as "disappointed and upset" that Rosscarbery, supplemented for the Curragh Group 1 at a cost of €30,000 to the filly's owner Robert Moran, missed out on prize-money...

Citing an inability to support three days of racing per week, Hawthorne Race Course asked for and received permission from the Illinois Racing Board (IRB) to drop the remaining five Sundays from its current Thoroughbred meet that runs through June 25. This is the first season in recent Illinois history with the scheduled-to-be-sold Arlington International Racecourse not running a summer meet, which has led to a thinned horse population this spring at Hawthorne. The Hawthorne season started Apr. 2 with just Saturday and Sunday racing. Fridays were added May 6,...

Trainer Kieran Cotter was fined €27,500 by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Referrals Committee and must pay a further €7,500 in legal costs. One of his runners, Slade Runner (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}), tested positive for cobalt and the IHRB found further misconduct by the trainer following a yard inspection. Slade Runner won a Dundalk handicap in January and returned a cobalt reading higher than the international threshold. After the cobalt positive, there was a joint inspection of Cotter's yard by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) and...