McGrath on gardening leave as Keogh parachuted in to ease Curragh turmoil

Plans to install Pat Keogh as caretaker manager to oversee raceday operations at the Curragh have escalated dramatically to the point that the Leopardstown chief executive was on Monday revealed to be replacing Derek McGrath with immediate effect.

The appointment of Keogh is understood to relieve outgoing Curragh chief Derek McGrath of any responsibility at Flat racing’s beleaguered headquarters in Ireland.

Following a board meeting at the Curragh last week, plans were initiated for McGrath to stay on to complete the €81 million redevelopment's snag-list before exiting at the end for the year.

However, such responsibilities will now also fall within Keogh's remit, with McGrath believed to have been placed on gardening leave until he vacates his role at the end of the season.

In an interview with the Irish Times after his original exit plan was revealed last week, McGrath suggested there had been a failure to "integrate behind a shared vision for what we want the Curragh to be", which did not go down well with his board.

Keogh is deemed a safe pair of hands who could bring some stability to the Curragh turmoil, and Brian Kavanagh, Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive and a Curragh board member, indicated that the much-criticised pricing structure would be among the areas he will be asked to address.

A former finance director for Coolmore who has been at the helm at Leopardstown since 2011, Keogh will balance both roles in the short term before concentrating entirely on the Curragh once a new management team is put in place at Leopardstown.

On his new position, Keogh said: "I look forward to the challenges provided by the Curragh – it's a racecourse that has always had impressive credentials in terms of its track and race programme and now has the facilities to match.

"In tandem, I'd like to pay tribute to my own team and all of the staff at Leopardstown who have been an absolute pleasure to work with, and have dedicated themselves to bringing Leopardstown to the position it's in now."

Under McGrath's three-year tenure, the most expensive capital development in the history of Irish racing came in €16m over its initial €65m budget, and saw the first scheduled Curragh fixture of 2019 relocated to Naas after HRI took a unilateral decision that it wouldn't be ready in time.

Having sustained ongoing criticism for the decision to race on during the two-year construction process, the Curragh management also endured negative coverage surrounding a parade ring that was unfit for purpose, a grandstand that makes a screeching noise when the wind blows in a certain direction, excessive pricing policies, long queues and generally poor raceday experiences.

Kavanagh accepted on Monday that the Curragh faced "many challenges" and described himself as "delighted" with the appointment of Keogh.

"I think the Curragh needs to reconnect with its audience and it also needs to have a look at its pricing structure," he told the Racing Post.

"That'd be the view of the HRI board. It's a competitive environment out there now. The Curragh is a magnificent facility, a facility we can be proud of, but we need to reconnect with the local community."

Speaking on behalf of the Curragh, chairman Padraig McManus said: "I'd like to thank outgoing CEO Derek McGrath and wish him well, he has been a driving force in delivering the world-class facilities which we now have at the Curragh.

"I'm delighted we've been able to secure the services of an experienced racecourse CEO of the calibre of Pat Keogh. I welcome him to the Curragh and look forward to working with him. I appreciate the co-operation of Horse Racing Ireland and Leopardstown in this regard."

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