Much riding on HRI new advertising campaign in difficult times

As the summer draws to a close Horse Racing Ireland has initiated a marketing drive designed to increase racecourse attendances and to build the profile of Irish racing on the domestic front.

In the local context it's not a bad time of the year to get the ball rolling, only a couple of weeks until Irish Champions Weekend, already established in its short history as the highlight of the Flat season, and just a month or so away from a gradual raising of the tempo of the jumps campaign.

In terms of rival domestic sporting attractions, the second of the two main championship competitions in Gaelic games concludes this Sunday. The main external counter attraction of Britain's Premier League is at an embryonic stage and on current form Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid may not provide a long-lived distraction.