THE year 2020 was a mentally trying year for the majority in Irish racing. Racing was on, off and on again. Sales were on and off, in one place and then another. People could travel abroad but then they couldn’t really, then they could go to certain countries and then they couldn’t again.

It was all a bit of a mess and the Irish racing industry was hit, that’s for sure. But Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) chief executive Charles O’Neill is adamant that brighter days are ahead, this year and beyond, and that there will be big positives to take from how the industry reacted to Covid.