Racing Enthusiasts Make Suggestions To HRI Forum The Racegoers Consultative Forum, established by Horse Racing Ireland, held its first ever public meeting last night in Adare to give genuine race enthusiasts an opportunity to submit constructive suggestions on how to improve the race day experience to Ireland’s racing authority. The meeting was attended by 185 people and was officially opened by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr. John O’Donoghue T.D. The tracks covered by the region are Limerick, Tipperary, Mallow, Listowel, Tralee, Killarney and all six racecourse managers were on hand to hear feedback from the public. The two forum members representing the region are Billy Loughnane and David O’Connor. Some of the positive suggestions to arise from the meeting were an all inclusive family ticket, incentives for students to go racing and the establishment of young racegoers clubs. Also discussed was the need for modern catering facilities that provided a broader choice and healthier eating options. All feedback was recorded and will be submitted to the Board and Directors of HRI. Speaking at the meeting Minister O’Donoghue said “Racing needs to learn systematically from racegoers experiences and this forum provides an excellent means of bringing racegoers concerns and ideas to the attention of HRI and to establish satisfaction levels and reaction to the development of their facilities. I believe this will be a great success.” Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Horse Racing Ireland, commented, “This session has been a very positive experience, an open forum where racing enthusiasts get to have real input into progressing racing in Ireland. Horse Racing Ireland is working very hard to improve infrastructure in racecourses throughout the country and consultation like this will prove invaluable. Working with the Racegoers Consultative Forum, we will certainly be considering all constructive suggestions very carefully.” This meeting is the first of a series of meetings in a nationwide campaign by the Racegoers Consultative Forum over the coming year.
