Thomas Lyster: Tell me about yourself, and what was it like growing up in a racing yard?

Emma Nagle: It was a brilliant way to grow up as you are always outside and around the animals. There is good and bad in it as it is hard to move away from the lifestyle when you grow up and you are doing it the whole time, but it is a great passion to have, and I think growing up in a racing yard is something that is engrained to you from a young age.

TL: What was your earliest racing memory and was it a sport you always wanted to be involved in?

EN: My earliest memory of going racing was that I remember standing at the rail in Punchestown and seeing War Of Attrition and Kicking King.

I also remember very well the day The Bishop Looney won the Cork National in Mallow, we had a soccer match and my mother dragged me out to it and I told her that we must leave at half-time because I wanted to see the race as we were not too far away from the racecourse. I remember that the match was tight, and they would not let you leave at half-time and the horse won the Cork National.

TL: Attendances overall on Irish racetracks are down this year. What can the sport do to encourage young people to come through the turnstiles or take an interest in the sport?

EN: Attendances have been down all through the year I do not think it is fully to do with a lack of interest in racing. The cost-of-living crisis has increased very quickly, and it is hard for people to go out and do anything never mind head to race meetings.

I mentioned to my friends this year about going to Galway and we just took a quick look at the hotel prices and there was just no way it was going to happen as it was too expensive. I think people do have an interest if it is an affordable day.

I think young people in Ireland have an interest in racing, I do not know if it is the gambling side or the horse racing side.

It is marketed too much on the social and drinking side when it should be about the horses and the competition.

If there was more marketing towards that I think people could get more invested in following the horses and jockeys.

TL: You rode in point-to-point races and bumpers as an amateur jockey. What was that like?

EN: I loved riding in the point-to-points, and I rode in a couple of bumpers, but I have always preferred the point-to-points because it was more relaxed and, to be honest, I was only doing it for fun, and you get a great buzz off it.

I rode The Bishop Looney, and he was a lovely horse to be able to ride he was only small, and you could not see him from another side of a fence, but he has won a Cork National and is a decent novice hurdler, so it was great to be able to ride him. In Ballindenisk we had a winner, it was a day I will never forget, and it was brilliant.

We beat a local horse and jockey, so it added to it as well that it was an odds-on favourite.

TL: Any good horses to look out for from Tom Nagle’s yard this season?

EN: We have a horse called Johnswood who will be targeted for a point-to-points. He is a five-year-old and is a nice horse he had a small setback last year and did not run. I would say he would take a fair bit of beating in a point-to-point.

TL: You can currently be heard on the Irishracing.com podcast and you also do some work with Raceday TV which I am a fan of, and it helps a younger audience get into racing. What do you find most enjoyable and challenging about those jobs?

EN: I am an accountant by trade which is not the most exciting job, so it is great to be able to do bits of work in racing. I was asked to do the podcast for Irishracing.com and it was brilliant.

I love talking about racing and I was delighted to get the opportunity. With Raceday, they asked me to present for the Dublin Racing Festival last February. It is great fun and I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is great for the younger people, and they get a good laugh off it.

TL: Do you think racing is as popular with young people as it was 10 to 15 years ago?

EN: I do think racing is popular among young people. Rachael Blackmore has brought a massive element to it I was at Kilbeggan or Ballinrobe last summer and there were kids lining out with signs for her and for autographs.

She is obviously a massive draw and not just for little girls, just for small kids as she has just hit the superstardom and gone beyond the racing media to become a celebrity.

Ireland produces high-class superstars such as Faugheen and Tiger Roll and we are the best in the world at racing. People take pride in that, and it draws young people in, but I think we could work to get a connection with people who are not from a racing background.

TL: Do you think racing is cost prohibitive for young people and what can Irish Racing do to make the sport attractive to a younger audience?

EN: It is an expensive day out in terms of going to the big festivals. I do not think we are paying a big entrance fee compared to what they pay in England. The entry fee for the tracks is not too bad, no matter what kind of race day you are going to in Ireland whether it is the Dublin Racing Festival or racing down in Mallow on a Friday evening.

I think once you get in the gate, it does not matter what you pay you should be looked after when you enter the track because that is what is going to form people’s opinion on going to race meetings.

TL: If there was something in racing you could change what would it be?

EN: It is getting harder in Ireland for small yards to compete with the superpowers getting stronger and stronger. One of the solutions to this could be an incentive series like they do for the claiming jockeys and run a series of races for yards that have less than so many horses and would encourage owners to send horses to a smaller yard instead of a bigger yard.

It is difficult for small yards because it is hard to get staff, and new owners and there are rising costs. A solution needs to be found to help the smaller yards because it is going in a bad direction currently.

TL: Any good horses to look out for from Tom Nagle’s yard this season?

EN: We have a horse called Johnswood who will be targeted for a point-to-points.

He is a five-year-old and is a nice horse he had a small setback last year and did not run. I would say he would take a fair bit of beating in a point-to-point.