Suzanne Eade

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...

Suzanne Eade, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, has once again prioritised prize-money in the budget with €68.6m set to be on offer across 390 fixtures in 2023. That represents a 2.5% rise on the pot that was on offer in 2022 while HRI also announced several other key industry supports and a contribution of over €1m to other initiatives on Wednesday. Integrity funding is set to increase to €15.9m (+3%) while the 2023 Budget provides for investment in equine welfare activities and welfare related grant funding of €2.7m, the...

Fewer horses in training, a drop in active owners and falling attendances were reported by Horse Racing Ireland in the six-month Irish Thoroughbred Racing Industry Statistics, which were released on Thursday.  Attendances for the first half of 2022 were down 9% on 2019 levels while on-course bookmakers reduced by 10.3% and Tote Ireland turnover was down a further 12.8%. However, bloodstock sales in Ireland at public auction continue to thrive, with the figures for the first six months up 31% to the most comparable recent figure of 2019.  There were...

Roger Casey, a chartered accountant who has been with Tattersalls Ireland for 14 years, will join Horse Racing Ireland as Group Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Suzanne Eade, who has moved into the role of chief executive officer. Casey is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, a member of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, and brings international commercial experience to the role having worked with Marsh McClennan; KPMG in Toronto and Dublin; and Deloitte in Dublin. Eade said, "I look forward to working with Roger, who brings significant financial expertise...