Frank discussions are needed to ensure rural tracks can navigate choppy waters ahead following Thurles closure

A lot has been made of the Racecourse Manual, published in June in a joint-venture between the IHRB and HRI, as to whether standards detailed therein – particularly the requirement of a watering system – contributed to the Molony family's decision to stop racing at Thurles.

The Tipperary course has no watering system and has famously proved impervious to the elements in the depths of winter, earning the facetious moniker of the country's first all-weather track. Such a distinction boomeranged last year as a particularly dry winter put paid to three meetings.

The IHRB has since explained the manual "does not impose immediate or inflexible obligations" on tracks, but rather "implementation is approached in a phased and collaborative manner", indicating that courses need to demonstrate an ambition to reach the standards at some point in the not too distant future in order to remain fit for purpose.