FOUR of Ireland’s 26 racecourses are in the care of female managers, though in the case of Listowel the role held by Brenda Daly is officially that of Secretary. The quartet are all looking forward to a bright 2018, while Sue Phelan in Waterford and Tramore (to give it its full name) already has a New Years’ Day meeting under her belt.

The first race of the year there was won by Chateauneuf Du Pap and ironically it was a real case of girl power. The winner is owned by Catherine Holden, trained by her daughter Ellmarie, was ridden by Rachel Blackmore and bred by Pauline Ann Cowey.

When I quizzed all four managers, Kate Molony in Thurles and Kathryn Foley in Sligo being the others, they were keen to stress they did not feel being female made them any different or better than their male counterparts. All emphasised that the work of a manager was the same throughout the industry.

Each was keen to highlight the empathy they felt they had with racegoers, and with the ‘non-racing’ needs of stakeholders. Sue in Tramore, for example, has introduced a chill-out area for jockeys this year, and the feedback has been very positive. Brenda Daly points out that admission prices for their festival meetings have not changed for over a decade, while Kathryn Foley is cognisant of the fact that for many racegoers it’s not always about the sport, but the social occasion.

Girl power is very visible at Thurles where five ladies rule the roost, aided by a brilliant group of staff. Kate is joined by her mother and three sisters in staging racing, an aspect of the family affair being that none of them ever had to apply for the jobs they do! On January 21st the Tipperary venue will host the Grade 2 Coolmore mares’ chase and the Grade 3 Horse and Jockey Hotel Kinloch Brae Chase – won last year by the subsequent triple Gold Cup winner Sizing John.

In what some consider to be a male-dominated industry, none of the quartet has experienced any negativity. Sue Phelan points to a number of female role models, including the recently retired Turf Club Senior Steward Meta Osborne, and is enthusiastic about the prospects of networking with more female racing colleagues under the umbrella of Women’s Irish Network for Racing (WINR) with Clodagh Kavanagh. She also mentions that so many women play a pivotal role in training, riding and working with horses.

Looking back at 2017 and it was generally a good year for all four racecourses. Sligo had a challenging start due to problems resulting from drainage work carried out last winter. The hunger for racing in the region meant that when they got up and running the crowds flocked through the gates.

Each of the tracks have various projects on the way or in the pipeline. Tramore is half-way through a €1 million development as part of the Horse Racing Ireland Development programme. This month sees the construction underway of a new entrance building and offices. Listowel is looking at demolishing one of their older bars and is planning some track work also.

Getting more people through the turnstiles remains a key challenge for Brenda, Kate, Kathryn and Sue, and key to this will be attracting a younger demographic. They, along with their 20 male counterparts, will be working flat out to achieve this in the year and years ahead.