THE Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board has issued an apology over a 53-minute delay to racing getting underway at Navan last Saturday when “human error” saw the meeting held up until the arrival of a necessary medical officer.

An eight-race flat card was due to begin at 1.12pm, but racing didn’t start until 2.05pm. That delay had knock-on implications for broadcasters on a Saturday with four other daytime meetings in Britain and another Irish card at Wexford.

A statement from the regulator to The Irish Field said: “The IHRB acknowledges and apologises for the delay to the commencement of racing at Navan Racecourse on Saturday arising from the late arrival of the rostered IHRB medical officer.

“While the circumstances arose due to human error and such incidents are extremely rare, we fully recognise the inconvenience and disruption caused to Navan Racecourse, racegoers, owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and the wider industry.

“An internal review has been completed and a number of operational and communication measures have already been implemented to reduce the risk of any recurrence. The IHRB would also like to thank Navan Racecourse and all stakeholders for the professional and constructive manner in which the situation was managed on the day.”