HRI Chief To Contact Attheraces

HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh is to contact Attheraces on Friday in order to put Irish racing back on digital television.

Kavanagh will also contact the Racing Channel, even though it ceased broadcasts of Irish racing on Tuesday when the eight month free period ended and has no plans to give HRI the cash-on-the-table deal that is being requested.

Attheraces is keen to include Irish racing in its programmes and is optimistic about agreeing terms even though many races would have to be recorded as they clash with those in Britain.

Kavanagh said on Thursday: 'We believe that the Irish racing product is sufficiently valuable for people to pay for it if they wish to show it and both companies were asked to quote for both exclusive and non-exclusive coverage.

'All we have asked is that they should give us a minimum guarantee of the revenue they project we would receive from betting turnover.

'A lot of the racecourses say that on quiet days the coverage is affecting the attendance figures. Their view is that, if they are not getting paid for the coverage, it's a bad deal.'

Such a bad deal, in fact, that Limerick racecourse manager Angus Houston arranged for the final three days of the four-day Christmas meeting not to be shown on the Racing Channel.

He said: 'All the indications are that the Racing Channel coverage has had a serious impact on attendances.

'Christmas was our big festival and if 1,000 people stayed at home over the last three days rather than pay the E15 admission it would have had a serious impact on our bottom-line.'

Clonmel manager Jerry Desmond calculates that live coverage cost him E6,000 at the Morris Oil Chase meeting in November and a further E3,000 at last month's Sunday fixture.

Desmond is also chairman of both the Association of Irish Racecourses and HRI's media rights committee. He has grave reservations about the coverage of minor meetings.