Sir, - It now looks as if Baldoyle Racecourse is gone forever and that any hope there was for the re-opening of the Phoenix Park has virtually vanished. If all that was not bad enough, it will not be long before Leopardstown is mutilated by the advent of the Southern Cross Motorway.
It is, to say the least, disappointing that the Irish Horse-racing Authority does not appear to greatly concern itself with any of these issues. While that will not come as any great surprise to many, it is alarming that none of the bodies which makes up the racing industry (e.g. breeders, owners, trainers, bookmakers) seem any more concerned.
The Racing Club of Ireland (which is the only consumer body in the industry) has put its opposition on record to any diminution of horse racing facilities in this country, and particularly in the nation's growing capital city.
Will this generation go down in sporting history as the one which allowed such myopia to rule - ironically, at a time when the reopening of Alexandra Park Racecourse in London (the site is still available) is being seriously contemplated? - Yours, etc., Rosaleen Battles,
Secretary,
The Racing Club of Ireland,
Eden Park Avenue,
Goatstown,
Dublin 14.