EFFORTS to get all 26 Irish racecourses to sign up to a new media rights deal will come to a head on Tuesday [Feb 28th] when representatives from every track attend a meeting in Co Kildare called by the Association of Irish Racecourses.

On the table will be a package believed to be worth over €40 million per year to racecourses but five tracks have already expressed concerns over how this money will be divided while there are now reports that one racecourse could be sold in the very near future and will not be in a position to sign any new media rights deal until that matter is resolved.

Tuesday’s meeting was called in a bid to reassure racecourses that the deal on the table from SIS and Racing TV was the best available, and to explain in more detail how it is proposed to calculate how much each racecourse receives.

Last month The Irish Field revealed that five tracks had grouped together under the United Irish Racecourses banner and among their chief concerns was the percentage of media rights revenue being taken by Horse Racing Ireland.

The five tracks - Kilbeggan, Limerick, Roscommon, Thurles and Sligo – also raised concerns over HRI’s position as a racecourse owner which they say is a conflict of interests.

Irish racing’s media rights are owned by the racecourses but their sale is negotiated by a committee put together by Horse Racing Ireland and headed by the chairman of the Association of Irish Racecourses.

The current media rights deal expires at the end of this year and HRI’s Media Rights Committee has selected existing partners Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (the parent company of Racing TV) as the preferred bidders for the next five-year contract.

It is understood that the owners of one strategically important track have received an “expression of interest” from a potential British buyer. If that approach develops into a sale it is very likely that the racecourse will not sign up to the SIS/RMG deal, opting instead for a rival broadcaster.

Such a move could then pave the way for other dissatisfied tracks to switch allegiances.