We're in a golden period for Irish sport - but racing is being left behind

For a long time, I've felt that Irish racing is gradually losing ground in the sporting consciousness of the nation. Now I think the process is accelerating, and I'm not sure what, or how much, can be done to reverse this decline.

I'm not talking about any of the metrics routinely trotted out in Horse Racing Ireland reports or in economic surveys of the industry. I'm referring to something intangible, a sense that the sport does not register with the public as frequently or as powerfully as it did in times past.

I suspect that the country's growing success at international level in a wide range of sports can only make matters worse.