IRISH racing will receive €70.4 million in Government funding for 2022, over €6 million less than allocated in last year’s Budget but over €3 million ahead of the figure for 2019 and 2020.

Horse Racing Ireland’s interim chief executive Suzanne Eade said HRI had looked for increased funding in its pre-Budget submission to the Department of Agriculture. “We pushed for higher funding because racing is delivering. All through Covid, our key performance indicators have been good. We managed the situation well and we even grew the public interest in racing.