IRISH racing is in no danger of following Britain’s lead and closing a racecourse in the forseeable future. That is the view of Paddy Walsh, chief executive of the Association of Irish Racecourses.

Speaking in the wake of this week’s shock Kempton news and upon receipt of a largely positive set of Irish racing industry statistics, Walsh said: “Without referring to any individual racecourses, I would have no concerns.

“We are compiling a new report on racecourse finances this year and I expect it will show that our tracks are in a slightly improved situation.”

The 2016 industry statistics, issued this week by Horse Racing Ireland, show that racecourse attendance rose by 3.3% last year but it is generally acknowledged that the growth is occurring at festivals while mid-week meetings and industry continue to slide in popularity.

“All racecourses are making a small profit. Our most recent study showed that the return on capital employed is under 2% but that’s not a bad result when you consider how few days each racecourse is open.

“The most recent Irish racecourse to close was Tralee and that was because ownership fell into the hands of a generation who had no connection with the sport. I can’t see that happening anywhere else for the moment and the fact that all of our tracks – bar one – applied for capital development grant aid suggests that there is a commitment there.”

Interviewed on Newstalk yesterday, HRI’s chief executive Brian Kavanagh said that this was a trend affecting other sports too. “The demand is for the big event, you get the crowds for the big game.” But he said small racecourses such as Ballinrobe were attracting strong local support both in terms of attendances and sponsorships.

Kavanagh justified the Government’s €64 million grant to Irish racing this year, saying that it stimulated far greater investment from racehorse owners and created significant rural employment. He also pointed to the growth in betting duty collected – over €50 million for a 12-month period – and said that racing could be fully funded from this source rather than an annual grant.

Kavanagh said: “We have been saying that for some time. Ireland has the lowest rate of betting tax and there is scope for that to be increased. The principle that betting funds racing applies around the world.”