On the eve of an historic event, the 150th running of the Irish Derby at the Curragh, a ruling by the Supreme Court has endorsed the Turf Club’s position as the regulatory authority for horseracing. Their powers to enforce the rules of racing have now been affirmed by the highest legal authority in the land.

Since its foundation in 1790, the Turf Club has been the independent administrator of the rules of racing, while it also provides the integrity services for all race meetings on the island of Ireland. It is a private body, something that has caused issues for some people and bodies over the years. Nonetheless, it would claim that its membership is comprised of a wide range of skill sets and that they possess knowledge and expertise of both the sport itself and the business of racing.

This latest challenge to their position was one of the most serious ever made, and had the Supreme Court failed to uphold the Turf Club’s powers racing would have faced a crisis. Thursday’s judgement will have certainly lifted the mood among the body’s members this weekend.

With this sword of Damocles removed, the Turf Club still has its challenges to face. However, for this historic weekend at the headquarters of Irish racing it can feel mightily relieved.

EDUCATION

It has been a busy week for students at a number of educational facilities and among the bodies with graduates of their courses this week have been Enniskillen Campus, the Irish National Stud and RACE. We wish all graduates the very best as they embark on a new world of opportunity.

The guest speaker in Enniskillen was Professor Patrick Wall. Here is a man who is always worth listening to and his speeches almost always touch the listeners in a very personal way. Motivation is a word that can almost always be associated with what Pat has to say.

He spoke for both sectors of the equine world – thoroughbred and sport horse – when he told graduates that there are always opportunities for knowledgeable, well presented individuals with good communication skills. He called on them to be passionate about their chosen career and challenge the status quo. There is always room to improve the way we do things.

The equine world is becoming populated more and more by young people with third level qualifications and it needs to adapt to the changing education environment. As Professor Wall succinctly says, “an investment in youth is an investment in the future.”