THE Turf Club and Horse Racing Ireland have no plans to follow the British Horseracing Authority’s lead in investigating sales ring practices.

The BHA is concerned that potential racehorse owners may be put off entering the sport due to fears of bloodstock market manipulation or anti-competitive behaviour at public auctions.

In a letter to industry stakeholders, BHA boss Nick Rust said he had “evidence of unsatisfactory experiences for owners and prospective owners” at bloodstock sales. He said “some of those who buy and sell” had “expressed concerns about secret payments, bribes, kickbacks and collusion”. Rust added in the letter: “We believe the majority of individuals involved in the buying or selling of horses will be operating within the bounds of the code of conduct. However, the BHA has received some concerns that there may be a small minority who are not.”

Leading auctioneers Tattersalls and the Racehorse Owners Association both played down the incidence of such behaviour, while prominent breeder Philip Freedman of the Horsemen’s Group suggested the BHA would be better off trying to improve its regulating of racecourse matters.

HRI has strengthened its links with the bloodstock industry in recent years and a recent report it commissioned highlighted the huge amount of Irish bloodstock sold in Britain. According to the Deloitte report, of the €338 million in bloodstock sold by Irish vendors, precisely 50% of sales took place in Britain.

However, HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh said it was not planning to review how business is conducted at Goffs, Goresbridge or Tattersalls Ireland.

“This is not an issue that has been on our agenda in recent times and we are not aware of any significant concerns on the part of vendors, purchasers or sales companies,” he said.

“The ITBA had previously drawn up a Sales Code of Practice which has operated for some time and, if necessary, we would be happy to work with them and the sales companies to update this.

“The sales scene in Ireland and the UK is effectively one market, with the two main sales companies operating in both countries, so we will watch the situation in the UK with interest, but at the moment, there are no plans to do anything similar in Ireland.”

NO POWER

Turf Club CEO Denis Egan said: “It would be very difficult for us to carry out a review as we have no powers to regulate bloodstock sales.” He said the Turf Club has never received a complaint about public auction sales.

“The ITBA has not received any calls of concern to date regarding this matter and we have communicated regularly with the sales companies who have not highlighted any issue,” reports the ITBA’s Shane O’Dwyer.

He said the sales companies’ code of practice was published in every catalogue. “The objective of this Code is to ensure the integrity and transparency of the Irish bloodstock Industry. If any party wishes to make a complaint about any alleged breach to the code they should notify the sales company where the alleged incident occurred.”

Henry Beeby, CEO of Goffs Group, met with Nick Rust and Jamie Stier from the BHA last week and offered Goffs’ full cooperation in any review that they carry out. “Nick Rust told me that he was meeting a cross-section of the industry for what he called a “pre-consultation” before they decide the next step(s), if any, which may include a review of the existing Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice. At our meeting, and in a subsequent email, he expressed his gratitude to me for my time and said that he found our meeting “extremely useful”.

INTEGRITY IMPORTANT

Beeby added: “Integrity is of paramount importance to Goffs at our six sale locations in Ireland and UK, and we will work with the BHA and other key stakeholders during their review process in whatever way we can to ensure a safe and transparent environment for all vendors and purchasers to trade thoroughbreds.

“We were part of the group that assisted the ITBA in drawing up the Sales Code of Practice that is carried in all our catalogues for sales in Ireland, and would also be very happy to work with the ITBA and other key stakeholders should a review of that Code be required.”

Roger Casey, managing director of Tattersalls Ireland, said his company shared the same commitment to the highest standards of integrity as their colleagues in Newmarket.

“We have not had any instances of dubious practices brought to our attention, but any such cases would be swiftly investigated in accordance with the Sales Code of Practice which was drawn up by the three Irish sales companies and the ITBA.

“We do not believe that a review is required by HRI or the Turf Club, but we would encourage the authorities in both jurisdictions to focus on other threats to the integrity of the sport such as the continuing practice of allowing unpaid for horses to enter and run in races in Ireland and the UK.”