I’m based in Donaghpatrick between Navan and Kells and I have the licence about eight or nine years now ..read more

3 years, 7 months and 13 days for nothing The shock news last Thursday that the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) is throwing in the towel on their own Referral case 3 years, 7 months and 13 days after they started investigating, and only a matter of days before the Referral Committee was due to hear the evidence, is hard to fathom ..read more

I’m 19 and from Emly in Co Tipperary and I’m based with Joe Murphy in Fethard. I’m full-time with Joe and most of what I have learned about racing has come from him. He has a wealth of knowledge and is very adept at planning which races to go for with his horses ..read more

Like most people I watched a lot of rugby over the last few weeks and while I do know the basic rules (I wasn’t previously aware that a player can charge down a conversion, but not a penalty) and would be familiar with many of the stars of the game, I’m probably what would be described as a casual fan of the sport ..read more

I am from Vicarstown in Co Laois and I started riding when I was four. We had ponies and my brother and sister rode. I evented and we did the pony club right the way up and I got all my exams. I competed in the inter-schools for Kilkenny College and Danny Mullins would have been on one of our teams. I will hold my hands up - if it wasn't for my dad, I probably wouldn't be in horses. He gave up everything and went over and above for all of us. We always had really nice horses underneath us. I started racing through Liam Cusack. I evented and his partner, Jane Tiffin, was my dressage trainer. I ..read more

Keith Donoghue's hard work is paying off Last week Willie Mullins opened his doors to the racing press as the new National Hunt season was launched and as always it was fascinating to hear him talk about how himself and his team came up with their plans for each horse. With an unrivalled array of talent at his disposal, Mullins’ job of deciding which of his novice stars will stay over hurdles and which will go chasing would give any ordinary mortal sleepless nights, but Willie Mullins appears so relaxed and comfortable in his role ..read more

I’m from Stamullen in Co Meath and I work in John McConnell’s yard which is only a few minutes down the road. I’ve been there 12 years and am part of the furniture at this stage ..read more

I was born and reared in Dundalk. I've lived in Ardee for the last 30 years which is only 12 or 13 miles away. I am an accountant by profession and my involvement with Dundalk started when I became a director of the old greyhound track in Dundalk upon the death of my father in 1978. My grandfather was a founder director of the original greyhound track in 1930. In the late 1990s, the old greyhound track and the old horse racing track were both in similar situations as they were in danger of closing because of lack of investment. Dundalk had come through the Troubles and it had been a tough time ..read more

The Luke Comer steroid case is set to rumble on for a while longer following news last week that the trainer has lodged an appeal against the withdrawal of his licence for three years and at the same time the IHRB has lodged a separate appeal against the leniency of his sanctions ..read more

I used to be a farmer and would have kept trotting horses. My father would have been in horses at the time and would have had a broodmare. He brought foals to the sales for years. I always looked after the foals because nobody else was really interested in it and I went racing with him as well. I was always too heavy to be a jockey, so I started breaking a few horses in. My dad passed away and I took out the licence about 18 years ago. I have always trained on my family land in Draperstown, Co Derry. At that stage, I only had a small gallop and two horses that belonged to my dad. I bought a we ..read more