RACING NEWS:IRISH HORSE racing's Government funding might be secure for 2009 but fears appear to be growing that state financial support for 2010 and beyond will not be so stable.

The sport’s ruling body, Horse Racing Ireland, are in on-going discussions with officials for the Department of Sport, and a decision on the long-term future of the Horse Greyhound Fund is expected by the end of this month.

Chief executive Brian Kavanagh stressed yesterday the HRI’s focus remains on securing long-term funding for racing and again pointed to gaining an increased return from the almost €5 billion that is generated by gambling in Ireland.

However, he added: “There is no doubt that since the whole banking issue arose, and on top of these economic problems generally, the attention of Government, both politicians and officials, has been mostly elsewhere.”

That comes on the back of comments by the HRI chairman, Denis Brosnan, who has pointed to a less than encouraging response from government in relation to racing’s funding issues.

“Brian and I have found friendlier ears in the past. It seems that less are listening now,” said Brosnan who also pointed to the possibility of gaining a revenue stream for the sport from betting tax.

“One third of what is bet in Ireland annually – €1.7 billion – goes offshore and there are legal remedies available,” he added.

The Horse Greyhound Fund is due for renewal after running out last month although approximately €55 million will be put into racing by the Government this year. That represents a cut on previous years and a series of measures to deal with the current funding shortfall now includes voluntary redundancies at HRI. “We have to cut our cloth to our measure and this is one element that we are pursuing,” Kavanagh said.