THERE was unexpected good news for Irish racing on Wednesday morning when the Department of Agriculture confirmed it would be increasing Horse Racing Ireland’s annual grant by over 14% in 2021.

HRI received €67.2 million this year, which was unchanged from 2019. This jumps by €9.6 million to €76.8 million next year and it is likely that a significant share of the funds will be used to support racecourses which have been starved of racegoers since March. Irish racecourses are reported to have lost at least €12 million in revenues this year.