OVER 70 small trainers are being summonsed before the Referrals Committee and facing the prospect of a fine for failing to submit to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board [IHRB] a copy of the Stable Employee Bonus Scheme [SEBS] agreement signed by staff members.

The Restricted Trainers Association [RTA] is appealing to the IHRB to relax the application of this rule to small trainers. The Association says many of its members have no staff outside of family members and some small trainers are not sufficiently computer-literate to complete the required online forms.

John Fitzgerald, chief executive of the RTA, said: “I have asked the IHRB to approach this differently and show some empathy and flexibility. Some of our members are elderly, have no staff, train no winners and are not used to uploading forms. They were frightened to learn they have to appear before the Referrals Committee over this. It seems heavy-handed.”

Ryan McElligott, CEO of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, said he was aware of a “very large number” of trainers who had received letters from the IHRB informing them that they would be appearing before the Referrals Committee due to their failure to provide the necessary paperwork by the required deadline.

“The cases I have heard about appear to be instances of genuine omission or innocent mistakes,” he said. “I would be shocked to learn there was any more to it than that.”

In a response to the the RTA, in a letter seen by The Irish Field, IHRB chief executive Darragh O’Loughlin said: “The vast majority of trainers comply with this requirement [to submit a copy of SEBS agreement] although a minority have failed to provide the agreement despite repeated correspondence.”

O’Loughlin listed eight notifications which were sent to trainers between March and June outlinging their SEBS obligations. “Referral to the Referrals Committee is a necessary step in the case of licensees who continue to fail to meet their obligations under the Rules.”

Small trainer Denis Coakley has complied with all the requirements but says that the process is difficult. “I work with IT systems every day and I found the IHRB system not very user-friendly. I seem to recall that the form I downloaded was out-of-date and it would not upload for me. There was no error message so I can see how it could have caused confusion for some people.

Bernard Caldwell, CEO of the Irish Stablestaff Association, has some sympathy for small trainers who have genuinely struggled with the paperwork or technology but says he knows some trainers have withheld significant bonus money from employees.

“We have asked the IHRB to tighten up the enforcement of the Bonus Scheme rules because there are some trainers who are blatantly not compliant on this. The list of eligible stable staff is meant to be displayed prominently in the yard, not in the trainer’s office. And the bonus money should be paid quarterly. Some trainers only hand over the money at the end of the year, as if it was a Christmas bonus, which it is not. It is part of their wages.”