INBA Urges Members To Boycott Dundalk

The Irish National Bookmakers Association (INBA) today called on its members to boycott Sunday week?s race meeting at Dundalk Racecourse in a dispute over the proposed allocation of bookmaking pitches at the County Louth racecourse.

The INBA considers that a letter sent to its members by Dundalk Racecourse on 10 August requesting them to comply with new pitch rules is in breach of the rights of bookmakers with seniority at Dundalk.

The INBA now considers itself to be in dispute with Dundalk Racecourse and the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) as it does not accept the contents of the letter to be binding on its members. It is now urging its members not to reply to the letter and not to attend next Sunday week's meeting.

Commenting on the dispute, the PRO of the INBA, Mr. Ciaran O?Tierney, said that the existing rules which govern all bookmakers? pitches at Irish racecourses and which had been agreed with AIR and the industry's governing body, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), should also apply to the newly-reopened Dundalk track.

'We have suggested that 50 bookmakers should be allowed into the new Dundalk racecourse and, under the current rules taking into account Registration fees, Introduction fees, Pitch fees and the Turnover charge, the racecourse could expect to receive revenue in the region of EUR250,000 between now and the end of 2008, but they have decided to sacrifice this in an attempt to get revenue upfront,' Mr O?Tierney said.

He added that the INBA did not believe that a racecourse which had received a substantial amount in taxpayers? money should try and change the existing rules in this way. 'We believe that the ultimate losers in all of this will be the race-going public who will be serviced by fewer bookmakers at Dundalk and we would call on Dundalk, the AIR and HRI to abide by the existing rules, which have served the industry and the public well.'