AS a Dubliner, and a Leeds United fan, it’s just as well Brian Kavanagh has Irish Champions Week as his sporting high this year. Of course, as chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, he knows more than anyone that racing is more industry than sport.

He started in the business with no equine background, joining the Turf Club in 1989 after qualifying as an accountant. Five years later he became manager of Curragh Racecourse, before returning to the Turf Club in 1999 to be CEO. He moved to the same role in HRI in 2001.