Keeling's jibe at government strikes jarring note

There was one discordant note at last week's Horse Racing Ireland awards ceremony. It came from HRI chairman Joe Keeling who expressed "disappointment" with "the baffling lack of support we received from the government this year".

Keeling, whose term ends in March, was referring to the government's decision not to increase its €64 million allocation to racing and its resistance to changes in the betting tax regime, a central plank of HRI's strategic wish list for umpteen years.

Keeling has enjoyed a successful career in business and has a genuine love of racing. He is a personable character, straightforward, down-to-earth, no airs or graces. Unfortunately, at crucial times during his HRI tenure, his qualities have been overshadowed by naivety and an absence of diplomacy.