Morrison to take over the reins from Lyttle at Downpatrick

Ruth Morrison, formerly Assistant General Manager at Downpatrick, will succeed Richard Lyttle as General Manager of the northern racecourse following his retirement after 13 years in the role.

Morrison has been working at Downpatrick since 2016 and will take up the General Manager role in the new year.

During his tenure, Lyttle has overseen major upgrades to facilities at Downpatrick for owners, racegoers and stable staff including implementing very successful sales and marketing initiatives to attract and increase new racegoers to the racecourse.

Downpatrick won the Racecourse Award at the 2022 Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards sponsored by Godolphin.

Downpatrick Chairman Peter Stewart commented: “Downpatrick Racecourse has been most fortunate to have had Richard at the helm for the last 13 years. During that time, he has improved facilities dramatically and he has also improved the race day experience significantly.

“Furthermore, he appreciated what stable staff, jockeys, owners, sponsors, and officials bring to racing, and went to great lengths to make their day enjoyable. Richard always carried out his duties with enthusiasm, integrity, and good grace.

“We are delighted that Ruth Morrison is stepping up as General Manager and I am very confident that she will carry on in the new role with similar drive, professionalism, and expertise.”

Lyttle, who will continue to work at Downpatrick in a consultancy role to oversee several key projects, said: “It has been a great pleasure to have worked at Downpatrick Racecourse. Our Chairman and Directors have been incredibly supportive of our many aspirations. They understood what we were trying to achieve, and empowered us to move forward with our ideas.

“I am delighted that Ruth Morrison will take over as Manager in January and I am very confident that she will continue our quest to constantly improve. She is very much a people’s person and will add her own stamp to bring the racecourse to the next level.

“I am looking forward to my consultancy role over the next few years to support Ruth on the next stage of Downpatrick’s journey.”

Morrison said: “I am honoured and really excited to take on the General Manager role at Downpatrick Racecourse in the new year. Richard has been a fantastic mentor and has done a wonderful job here over the last 13 years and I look forward to building on that. Richard and I have always worked very well together, and I am fortunate that I will still have his input in his new consultancy role.”