Sir, - As an owner I received an email from the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners last week, and one of the items was about the Bloodstock Code of Practice.

We heard of many stories and were aware that such practices may have been going on for the past decades. It reminded me of a case I was involved with in the 1980s.

I was employed by BBA Ireland, and my boss at the time was the great Tom Cooper. One morning he asked me to go to his office. He proceeded to tell me that he had received a cheque, made out to himself, for £500 – a sizeable sum at the time.

It was from a grateful owner of a horse that Tom had bought to go racing in England. Tom bought many horses for the top National Hunt trainers at the time.

He asked me how we should deal with this, and to come up with a solution that would not offend the happy owner. We decided to return the cheque with a letter, explaining that BBA Ireland had already got their commission from the buyer.

In order not to upset the seller, we suggested that maybe a few bottles of wine at Christmas would be acceptable. I often meant to tell Tom’s wife, Valerie, this story.

This was a suggested solution as many owners were so grateful to be able to sell their horses. They were different times, and the ethos Tom passed on may be one of the reasons that BBA Ireland is still in operation today, some 40 years later. - Yours etc.,

Frank A McNulty,

Leopardstown Road,

Foxrock,

Dublin 18