TRAINERS holding a restricted licence should not have to pay commercial rates on their property, according to a recent court ruling. Co Cork restricted trainer Michael ‘Trixie’ Barry took a case against his local authority, following a rates valuation which classified his operation as ‘commercial’ rather than agricultural.

After hearing that restricted trainers could only train four horses at a time, all their own property, Judge Sean Ó Donnabhain ruled that Barry could not reasonably expect to derive a commercial gain from his enterprise, and therefore he allowed the appeal.

However, it is thought that the local authority may appeal the judgement to the High Court, which could mean significant legal expenses for the Rathcormac trainer.

Michael Grassick, CEO of the Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association, said: “I know of some cases in Kilkenny where trainers changed their licence to restricted status to avoid commercial rates, so this Cork case is consistent with that. But rates for trainers are a grey area in other parts of the country. We have retained the services of chartered surveyor Eamonn Halpin in recent years and a number of trainers have secured reductions. The methodology of assessment was changed. Instead of calculating the amount due based on the number of stables, the assessors began including all buildings, such as barns, lunging rings and even walkers. Our view has always been that training or ‘producing’ horses is an agricultural activity, rather than commercial.”