You don’t imagine Turf Club officials walking around displaying the type of motivational wrist bands so popular with sports people nowadays but it might not be a bad idea. If Senior Steward, Meta Osborne were designing such an item, it would contain the initials GFIR.
Good For Irish Racing.
For anyone anxious to see Irish racing’s key regulatory and promotional/developmental bodies uniting in pursuit of a shared goal, Osborne’s ascension to the key position was extremely welcome.
The Kildare native represents establishment as a member of a revered family in the breeding and racing world but is also a mould breaker, being a woman in a male-dominated administrative world.
More than that though, as Senior Steward of the Turf Club, vice-chairperson of Horse Racing Ireland, chief reproduction veterinary surgeon in Kildangan Stud and co-owner, with husband Dermot Cantillon, of Tinnakill House Stud, Osborne views the landscape of the industry in its broadest sense.
The frustrating aspect of much of the squabbling between various stakeholders is that they are all rooting for the same thing but get bogged down in perceived threats to their primacy or roles. The irony is that this slows progress.
If you ever got a look at the notebook Osborne carries around with her, the aforementioned acronym makes pretty regular appearances at the top of a page, or in a margin.
GFIR.
What else is there?
DÓC: Thanks for agreeing to chat in a week when your Uncle Tony passed away. With your legendary father Michael and generations before, and now you and your brothers John and Joe, are you conscious of what the Osborne name means in racing and is that something you would value?
MO: I would. I’ve been doing the reproductive veterinary work in Kildangan for 27 years and Dad would have opened the door for me there but you hope you continue there because of your merits rather than who you are.
In racing, everybody knows the name. We had lunch after Uncle Tony’s funeral at Naas Racecourse. He was a director at Naas since the early ‘80s. My grandfather would have been a founding member of Naas Racecourse with a group of local farmers, so I think that family history is important. It’s not the only way to get into racing but it has meaning to you when it’s there and I suppose you don’t want to let the side down, mind it and make sure you live up to the good name.
It’s funny, I have two sisters that nobody ever knows about because they aren’t in the industry but that’s good too as it gives us some balance.
DÓC: How do you manage all your commitments?
MO: I manage to juggle things badly. I tend to get all consumed by one thing and everything else goes to pot - my house being a case in point! For the past stud season I took on a second vet, and that gave me a bit more flexibility because with the best time management in the world I would say that on average the Turf Club, and associated HRI board meetings and committees, take up one and a half days a week. And that doesn’t cover the phone calls, emails or thinking time.
Family have all been incredibly supportive, especially Dermot, and when it comes to Tinnakill I learnt a long time ago that there has to be one boss, and in our case that’s Dermot.
DÓC: You didn’t want your gender to be the focus of your appointment but as the first woman to become Senior Steward of any racing regulatory body in the world, it is a big deal.
MO: I am hosting a lunch at the Curragh (today). The Senior Steward has traditionally hosted three or four lunches each year for dignitaries, industry figures and to thank Turf Club members who have served on committees or done a lot of stewarding. I wanted to make this lunch particularly about women in racing who have done all these things. We have representatives of trainers, jockeys, vets, owners, breeders, administrators, educators, regulators.
I acknowledge the fact that having me as Senior Steward IS a first, and it’s a tribute to those men in the Turf Club who nominated me for the position.
As I’ve said previously, I think it is important for women to have role models - the phrase ‘How can I be you if I can’t see you?’ comes to mind. I could never have dreamt as a child of being Senior Steward of the Turf Club because when I was a child there weren’t any female members.
I hate generalisations and labels but we do need to see more women in senior positions in Irish racing. I think women take a more holistic view and are more inclined to work collaboratively towards a solution rather than staking out a position and holding it, come hell or high water, or thinking in shorthand. I never found this as much of an issue in veterinary politics - is it that there are more egos involved in racing? Or is it that racing is more in the public eye? But it’s slowly improving.
DÓC: When you came in, you had a review of the challenges facing the Turf Club. What are they?
MO: The challenges facing the Turf Club are those facing any regulator - increased public scrutiny, issues around funding and how best to deploy resources. A complicating factor is our internal structure.
The INHSC deals with National Hunt matters and point–to-points but the stewards of each sit as a joint board; 70% of Turf Club members are also National Hunt committee members, and vice versa and virtually all race-day panels and Turf Club committees have members drawn from both.
I’ve been a member of the Turf Club since 2005 and automatically became a member of the INHSC when I became a steward of the Turf Club in 2011 but I’m sure I’m missing some of the nuances of the relationship between the two.
One of the tasks we are working on is to set up a Racing Regulatory Body, made up of members of both bodies, which will be a limited liability company to carry out our integrity functions under the HRI Act 2016. This gives us an opportunity to look at how we do our job. I certainly think that continuing professional development for all stewards is vital if we aspire to be a world class regulator.
Another complicating factor in Ireland is the relationship between the Turf Club/INHSC as regulator and HRI as the promoter and funder of racing. An awful lot of energy has been expended over the last 16 years trying to find an accommodation between both organisations. I am convinced that we each want what is best for Irish racing but perhaps we haven’t spent enough time sitting down and sharing that vision.
For my own part, I am firmly convinced that the Irish model of separation of powers is one that we should jealously guard. It is interesting that in two jurisdictions where racing has recently been the subject of government-commissioned review, Mauritius and Victoria, Australia, it was recommended that this model be adopted. Where Ireland leads, others follow!
DÓC: Your profile gives you a rounded view of the industry and it must be frustrating to have such strained relationships at times between the Turf Club and HRI.
MO: I do try to take a holistic view. To me the integrity of racing is the foundation on which everything else is built, but equally, without the breeding industry there’d be no runners, without owners who would buy our horses, without staff who would feed and care for horses? And then without vets where would we be?
And looking outwards, on a day like Darley Oaks day at the Curragh, think of all the milliners, boutiques, shoe shops, beauty salons that get business from racing.
I am vice-chair of HRI and there are two other RRB nominees serving on the board - John Powell and William Flood - so all the ‘them and us’ talk is ridiculous.
The Turf Club and HRI both have a role to play - as the song says ‘You can’t have one without the other.’ I am a relative newcomer to the Turf Club and I maybe don’t understand the nuances of history, but I see what is happening and I think we have to put the history book back on the top shelf and start writing our own new story.
DÓC: You announced a review of the stewarding function in the wake of the high profile Noble Emperor case and others. Do we need a professional body to address horses running on their merits, in the same way other sports have citing bodies? Can race-day stewards really determine such matters in minutes while also carrying out their other responsibilities? Is it not something that needs a more considered approach and in a fashion that the running of every horse in every race can be looked at? And what determines running on merit within the game that is handicapping?
MO: I don’t really want to comment on the stewarding review, as it is not yet finalised, other than to say that we have looked at the various issues raised and I think you will be pleased with the outcome. I think we have covered a lot of the issues that came up. We’ve listened to what people said and looked at ways of doing things better.
DÓC: There was quite a delay in the issuing of anti-doping report by the task force you chaired. Why was that?
MO: It did take longer than I would have liked but I think it was worth the wait. It’s a highly complex, technical area and there was a learning curve involved for all task force members, myself included. It was the first time in recent memory that all facets of the industry sat around the one table with a common, specific purpose and I think it could be a useful model to use for other issues such as racehorse welfare. The problem is that by necessity we end up asking the same people to get involved in multiple boards and committees and the simple task of scheduling a meeting can get very complicated. We should do more to broaden the talent bank.
I am thrilled that Dr Lynn Hillyer will be coming on board in September as Turf Club chief veterinary officer and head of the Anti-Doping Unit.
DÓC: There doesn’t seem to be more people getting caught so are you really stepping up the fight?
MO: There’s no doubt we are. There was an increased investment in drug testing at Christmas and it has to go through a procurement process at the moment. It’s just much slower than you’d like it to be because of the bureaucracy involved with State money but that will ramp it up.
It’s not just about the testing though but who you test and when. You have to be intelligent in the way you deploy resources, not just throwing money at it. Get the maximum out of your buck.
DÓC: As a vet, you’ll know how important out of competition testing is and that race-day testing might not necessarily be when you’ll catch any transgressors.
MO: There are tricks. Absolutely. It’s about being aware of all the ways people can cheat the system. It’s not as simple as doing 1000 tests. It’s knowing when to test and what to look for. And I think Lynn Hillyer will be a huge help in that regard. We have done a great job until now but this is a real sign of our commitment. The fact that she would come to us from the BHA, she obviously thought it was worth her while.
DÓC: What are your hopes for Curragh Racecourse and isn’t it a positive that the key stakeholders can work together for the common good?
MO: The Curragh is my joint-favourite racecourse along with Naas. I’ve been to every track in Ireland apart from Downpatrick and I’ll remedy that before too long. Redevelopment of the Curragh is a huge vote of confidence in Irish racing by the State (via HRI) and private investors and is long overdue. Aidan O’Brien has said that the racing surface is the best in the world; now we will have facilities to match. It is sad for the Turf Club to lose control of the crown jewel, but we still have a direct involvement and the decision is in the greater interests of Irish racing.
DÓC: What are the challenges for the wider industry?
MO: The racing experience in general. I think people shouldn’t get fixated on numbers; it should be about how much people enjoyed their day at the races. Proportionately I think more people going racing in Ireland are genuine racing enthusiasts than is the case in Britain and we have to nurture them. Racing serves a particular purpose here - it is the showcase for our product, the Irish thoroughbred. We are a nation of horse-dealers, every horse is for sale, Irish horses win here on the most competitive racing stage in the world and are bought for export worldwide. Then at home we have their foal and yearling half- and full-siblings heading to the sales, thus sustaining an industry. We need attractive programmes, competitive prize-money, comfortable facilities, and HRI have played a key role in all of this. We go to Royal Ascot every year and I was immensely proud that 19 of the 30 winners carried the IRE suffix.
Other issues revolve around staff retention and development. Staff are one of our greatest assets. We have to recruit, train them on an ongoing basis and hold onto them.
We need to find a way of engaging people while selling what is unique and wonderful about our industry in a world where the soundbite rules.
With my veterinary background, I am very conscious of equine welfare and want to keep a weather eye on what is going on in this area. We need to be in control of the narrative.
DÓC: What were your best days racing or working?
MO: Personally my best day was seeing our Tinnakill-bred Casamento winning the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. It’s also exciting that he looks like he is making a good showing with his first crop on the track this year. Professionally, I enjoy the thrill of scanning a problem mare in foal, though I tell clients that they shouldn’t forget that mare is a four-letter word!
DÓC: What are your goals for the duration of your stewardship?
MO: To get through it! I had no idea how time consuming it would be, nor how political. The biggest challenge has been prioritising as it takes so long to get anything done. Two years won’t be enough to get everything done but I am starting to realise that I am in a central role and just by listening and putting particular people or groups in touch with each other, I can make a difference, even if I am not directly involved.
I would also like to look at how technology can help us do a better job - from the mundane such as communications, both internally and with the public and other stakeholders, to the sophisticated like data analytics and improved collection of info regarding racecourse injuries or fatalities, including those that happen after the horses leave the course, so that we can benchmark Irish racing against other jurisdictions. The introduction of speed sensors on all horses and how that might impact race reading would be interesting too.
The main thing though is that with the passing of the 2016 HRI Act, it is now a new job and should be a new relationship between the Turf Club and HRI. We have been a gentleman’s club for 220 years. That served us well down through the years but we probably need to look at our own internal structures and we definitely have to look at our external relationship. Because to the wider world, we are all the one. We are racing.
I totally believe in the independence of the integrity function. I really think that’s a cornerstone but that doesn’t stop us having a dialogue with HRI and working with them for the greater good of Irish racing. That’s my fundamental message.
DÓC: And isn’t that what everyone wants?
MO: Yes but some feel that HRI has some sort of takeover agenda and I don’t believe that. I believe that everyone wants to be sure that the integrity function is carried out to the highest possible standard and we need to deliver. Maybe both sides are to blame but I want to put all that behind us. Look to the future, forget about the past and see can we move forward together.