The ultimate disaster for Irish racing is closer to becoming reality - so how on earth will the sport stay on our screens?

James Browne, junior minister in the Department of Justice, might perform a volte face on Wednesday evening and introduce an amendment to section 141 of the Gambling Bill that legislates for a watershed ban on gambling advertising.

Then again, he might not. Okay, we all know he won't, and Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive Suzanne Eade conceded as much in these pages on Tuesday ahead of Browne proposing various cabinet-approved amendments to the Dail.

Browne's position has been trenchant for a long time now and his dismissal of racing's concerns in relation to the knock-on effect of section 141 has been alarming. At the end of last year, in an interview with one of the tabloids, he compared the broadcast of Irish racing to that of low-key GAA games and stated that the thoroughbred industry was too reliant on bookmaker support. That failure to acknowledge or understand the difference between the output of a racing industry holding a media rights deal worth around €47 million a year and "junior football and hurling matches" betrays a deeply concerning ignorance of the reality of the situation.