Irish regulator set for busy and expensive time as three trainers take High Court action

In the world of Irish racing that is regulated by an entity that has an unfortunate historic capacity for courting controversy, strife has been in short supply of late. At least it has been outside of court. 

Since the November publication of a remarkably bloodless report into the illicit transfer of €350,000 from the Jockeys Emergency Fund charity to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board shortly after the IHRB's former chief executive Denis Egan's departure with a €384,870 golden handshake, racecourse-related rumblings have been few. 

A report into the financial impropriety cost €80,000 and didn't explicitly link the 'borrowing' of the money to Egan's payment, which was €141,880 – or 58 per cent – more than he was entitled to under the terms of the existing redundancy scheme, the surplus being funded by the Turf Club and Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee.