The 2015 budget just announced by the board of Horse Racing Ireland has two significant components – being both owner and customer focused. This is an acknowledgment of the imperative to encourage and retain the people who are key funders of the sport, and similarly to look after the people who pay to watch the show.

The approach to the owners is two-fold, to make sure that they are competing for a level of prize money that does not make other racing jurisdictions more attractive alternatives, and to reduce the costs that they incur when they have horses in training.