Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) (Irish: Rásaíocht Capall Éireann) is the governing body of horse racing on the island of Ireland. The HRI mission statement is "to develop and promote Ireland as a world centre of excellence for horse racing and breeding". Like most other sports, horse racing is run on an All Ireland basis, so Horse Racing Ireland is responsible for racing in both the Republic of Ireland, which has 24 racecourses, and in Northern Ireland, which has 2 racecourses. The remit of the British Horseracing Authority does not extend to Northern Ireland, even though Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. HRI was founded in 2001, succeeding the Irish Horseracing Authority, the 1994 successor to the Racing Board founded in 1945.
In addition to fulfilling regulatory and promotional functions, Horse Racing Ireland owns Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary racecourses. The group's current chairman is Mr Denis Brosnan and its CEO Mr Brian Kavanagh.
The industry still contributes significantly to the Irish economy. Bloodstock sales, Tote betting and racecourse attendances produced significant growth in 2011, figures issued by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) show. This marks a positive upturn for the industry which had suffered severe contraction since 2007 across almost all areas. In 2004 this contribution was estimated to be in the region of €330 million euros.
Famous quotes containing the words horse, racing and/or ireland:
“Only a man harrowing clods
In a slow silent walk
With an old horse that stumbles and nods
Half asleep as they stalk.”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“No people can more exactly interpret the inmost meaning of the present situation in Ireland than the American Negro. The scheme is simple. You knock a man down and then have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and then hang the corpse.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)