THE board of Horse Racing Ireland meets on Wednesday when members are due to sign off on HRI’s spending priorities for 2026.

HRI chief executive Suzanne Eade did not give much away when touching on the subject in her opening remarks at last week’s HRI Awards.

She said: “Our budget process for 2026 is well underway, and while stakeholders have shared their aspirations, we will need to balance our expenditure in line with our objectives, aligning resources to ensure we deliver for the long term health of the industry.

“A significant portion of our annual funding is required to be invested into capital projects. For example, the recent approval for the development of the new all-weather track at Tipperary is central to planning for the future, and it will provide a major economic stimulus for that area, not to mention the huge boost it will give to racing and training facilities in the south of the country.

“Plans for the redevelopment of the Irish Equine Center, as well as the creation of a new national equine campus of RACE are progressing well, and we are very grateful to both DAFM and all our industry stakeholders who are making significant contributions to enable these vital projects to be delivered for the benefit of our industry.”

Owners and trainers have consistently called on HRI to improve prize money levels. Last week's announcement that the Derby and Coronation Cup at Epsom have received major prize money boosts comes a week after Ascot announced record prize money for next year. The King George will be worth £2 million in 2026.

Also this month it was announced that the International at York will be worth £1.5 million next year, up 20%.