IT’S his fault I’m in this job,” says a grinning Liam Walsh with a nod to his former colleague and predecessor, standing outside the Naas weigh room, just before Christmas.

“I taught him everything he knows,” comes the rejoinder from Peter Matthews, himself smirking, leaving a pause adding the punchline with perfect timing.

“But I didn’t tell him everything I know!”

Such exchanges are not unusual, even though Walsh is busy. And the day starts early, with officials at the track around two and a half hours before the first race, to deal with anything that might arise.

Today, the raceday stewards committee is chaired by Michael Hickey, with John Cronin and Robert Hall also sitting and trainee steward, Justina McKeever observing.

Former trainer, Paul Deegan, is the second stipendiary steward and Simon Murphy, the clerical assistant. It turns out to be hectic.

There are some normal nuts and bolts – late arrivals, late withdrawals, jockey changes. Before the starter gets near his rostrum, there is an enquiry into the inability to confirm the identity of Krak, a four-year-old trained by Stuart Crawford for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, scheduled to debut in the third race, a maiden hurdle.

IHRB veterinary officer, Joan Taylor reports that, despite using a number of different scanners, she cannot locate the microchip. Ross Crawford is there to represent his brother. As anyone who owns a chipped cat or a dog knows, microchips can move. And, in an animal as large as a horse, that means it can go missing.

The four-year-old must be withdrawn. There is genuine sympathy for the Crawfords, which is expressed to Ross. It’s a long haul from Antrim to Naas to not get a run. But there is no option.

He is still on the cattle and tillage farm in Borrisokane he grew up on, living across the road from his parents, William and Mary, with his wife Lynda, and two children, Bill (11) and Molly (8).

Fittingly, horses are as central to this brood as it was in the initial one. Broodmares, the odd Irish Sport Horse stallion, loads of horses to show in-hand, some show jumpers and even a point-to-pointer or two. They boasted All-Ireland glory in a showing class on one glorious occasion.

Walsh was an amateur jockey for a while, but wasn’t as phlegmatic about getting battered as weigh-room inhabitants need to be.

“It didn’t take me long to realise that I wasn’t good enough. I shared an ambulance to hospital with the late, great J.T. McNamara once and, when I saw how much pain he was in despite having three winners that day, I knew it wasn’t for me. He could ride and still ended up in there and I remember thinking, ‘What chance have I?’

“The best ride I ever saw was by Charlie Swan, when he won the Champion Bumper for Willie Mullins (on Joe Cullen in 2000). He sat at the back and I think the horse thought he was on the way to the start, when he actually was passing the winning post. He tricked the horse into winning. Denis O’Regan was fascinating to watch.

“Just an incredible brain, kind hands. His horsemanship was amazing. He could see a stride from a 1,000 yards. He had a great ability to figure out quickly the ability of a horse and judged the pace he went at to suit what he was riding, so he would finish strong. He made slow horses look like they were racehorses.

“If you were a horse, you’d love to be ridden by Denis O’Regan, because you’d eat your dinner that evening. A great horseman and he opened your eyes as to how much there was to learn about riding a horse.”

This respect for jockeys is the foundation of an excellent working connection with them. Irish Jockeys’ Association secretary, Andrew Coonan is very positive about what he calls, “a collaborative relationship”.

The IJA were involved in discussions that ultimately led to the separation in the guidelines of all the whip sub-categories in 2024. In the past, a rider with a frequency breach on his rolling record would have had his suspension doubled on the totting-up basis were he to have a whip breach in another sub-category, such as height. Now, they are unrelated as breaches when the stewards are looking at ‘previous’. In this regard, the rolling period of a jockey’s record relevant when considering that ‘previous’, was reduced to six months, in recognition of the significant increase in fixtures. The trade-off was the introduction of stiffer penalties.

Turf Club

That was all in the distant future when Walsh applied for a job with the Turf Club in the point-to-point department and didn’t get it at the first time of asking.

But he was enthusiastic and keen to learn, so he offered his services gratis,borrowing his mother’s car to travel wherever he was needed. When the next vacancy arose, he was ready and will celebrate 20 years in the organisation in 2025.

“I started as a point-to-point official. Seán Barry, Josh Byrne and Denise O’Neill were very good to me at the time. I progressed onto the track after two years and I have been there since.

“When I started, the officials had to be able to do every job – starting, veterinary box, scales and stewards’ room, which gave me a good grounding, but it was the stewards’ room that I was the most comfortable in.

“Peter Matthews was excellent to work with, always very calm and he could read a race with one glance. When he retired two and a half years ago, after 40 years with the organisation, I was lucky enough to be appointed.”

The 48-year-old prefers the velvet glove to the iron fist and puts this philosophy into action after the opener, a beginners’ chase. Having seen some potential interference as the horses fanned out off the bend turning into the straight, and reviewed it from the variety of angles and speeds thanks to the Total View system provided by IRIS, Séan O’Keeffe, Sam Ewing and Danny Mullins are called in.

O’Keeffe and Ewing offer two succinct contributions. Mullins is more loquacious, arguing that the lines created by how the grass is mowed creates an optical illusion that he is racing off a straight line and thus leaning left into O’Keeffe. He insists that he has gone straight all the way.

The jockeys leave and there is a brief discussion. Liam isn’t buying what Mullins is selling, but with no impact on the finishing positions and the incident of low-level gravity, Walsh recommends giving him the benefit of the doubt, but for him to be told he was getting it.

“If you’re going to find somebody in breach, there can be no doubt,” he says in an aside, when the enquiry is concluded.

Jockeys’ contributions

You do wonder if enquiries are needed in open-and-shut scenarios, or at the value of jockeys’ contributions in interference cases, where everyone is going to say they were on the best horse and it was someone else’s fault.

“We operate off the principles of natural justice,” the head referee explains. “And that means people are entitled to say their piece. In our first enquiry (Krak’s missing microchip), even though there is only one course of action open to the stewards, connections are entitled to speak.

“It is frequently mentioned that riders should not attend enquiries, and I would prefer if that was the case, but again, our rule book is based on the principles of natural justice and, with that, people have the right to rebut any allegation that is put to them. Everyone is innocent of everything until proven otherwise.”

In interference cases, stewards must be satisfied that a horse has improved its position by causing interference. To these irritated eyes, that means the percentages fall significantly in favour of the perpetrator rather the victim.

“You are considering so many factors. Usually, if something happens far enough out and a horse has time to recover and respond, you can’t change a result for that.

“But we had a Grade 3 here (in January 2023). Thedevilscoachman suffered interference at the second-last and the stewards on the day deemed that the interference was significant enough given the (neck) margin on the line, that it had an impact on the result and they reversed the placings.”

There is a frightening incident in the parade ring ahead of the third race, when Party President rears up and unships Adam Leahy. The young jockey is in a lot of pain and a screen is put up around him as he is attended by medics.

Walsh has a quick discussion on comms and the message goes out that all horses, apart from the first three, are to be dismounted out on the track after the race, rather than brought back into the parade ring.

The communication is constant. When Walsh feels a horse has underperformed – particularly one that is prominent in the betting – he radios down to Taylor to do an examination.

On one particular occasion, he hears one make a noise and, having touched base with the veterinary officer, she reports it to be clinically abnormal post-race. There is also a WhatsApp group set up for officials involved in each meeting. Even the handicapper is included, giving feedback, making an enquiry or an observation. Clerk of the course, stewards, judges, vets, doctors – they’re all on it. Even the starter messaging: ‘Off on time.’

Back to the race and, unfortunately, another screen is required on the track, as a horse suffers a serious injury. Walsh can’t remember another occasion when two screens were needed at the same time. “You are always learning in this game and still, things happen that you haven’t seen before.”

He produces three publications upon which his approach is founded.

“This is my bible,” he says, picking up the rule book. “I must follow this and interpret it in a fair way, where interpretation is called for. But, while other people consider other factors, I must follow the rules of racing.

“Then there are the guidelines, which ensure consistency in issuing fines or suspensions, as they are all published, there in black and white for everyone to see.

“And then you have the five strategic pillars, which underpin the IHRB strategy as laid out by our CEO (Darragh O’Loughlin).

“Each of those is very important – People, Integrity, Welfare, Digital First and Governance, but Welfare is my core value in doing this job.

“A relentless focus on the safety and well-being of our human and equine participants,” he dictates, from under the Welfare heading. “That is what I think about every day I come racing.”

The rule book is being overhauled at present by the Compliance and Regulations Committee.

Current needs

“All procedures will be moved from the rule book onto our website. Outdated rules will be either removed or updated to reflect current needs and tie in with our international racing obligations, which are becoming more important as time goes on.

“Hopefully, the rewrite will help all of us to move in the right direction. People won’t always agree with our decisions and that is fine, but once we interpret the rules in a fair way every time and those involved know we honestly did what we felt was right, then I will be happy going home.”

The move towards more harmonisation across jurisdictions is indisputably a positive one given the global nature of the sport now. The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation are integral to this.

“There is international harmonisation in some areas and, when you have the likes of the European stipes and world stipes coming together, these things are discussed. We try to have some international rules in common. It can be difficult, because in some countries, racing is run by governments. But that is an ongoing process, I suppose.

“One of the rules that we brought in a couple of years ago that has been in place internationally for some time is suspending a rider for giving an advantage to another horse.

“We got a bit of criticism for giving Sam Ewing five days for it (after the Morgiana Hurdle in 2023), but it was in place and the jockeys were aware of it. It is an example of that move towards harmonising rules where we can.”

Unfortunately, treatment of the whip varies significantly, however. The sport should be unified in its messaging on what is safe for horse and jockey.

Number of strikes

“We think limiting the number of strikes to eight is right and works well, but we do have stewarding conferences and are discussing it regularly, whether it’s through the IFHA or EMHF.

“I was at a stewarding conference in Denmark and they don’t use whips at all… (but) we don’t feel there is a big issue with the whip in Irish racing and that we are working well with the jockeys on it.”

Keith Donoghue is one of the most empathetic jockeys on the planet, but he goes one over the limit, with nine strikes, in a desperate finish to the fourth race and, after going through those aforementioned disciplinary motions, is issued with a two-day suspension. Afterwards, Walsh goes into the weigh-room to discuss it with him, clarifying – because not everyone knows the rules – that participation in Grade 1 fixtures over Christmas is not at risk.

While there, he takes the time to have a quiet word with a young jockey that might have been a little rapid with his strikes earlier.

The talented pilot wasn’t anywhere close to breaching the number of strikes, but the rules say you must allow three strides between each strike. He wants the jockey to be aware of it.

“I do a lot of my stewarding outside the door,” Walsh declares at one point and this is a clear example of that methodology.

As is customary, there are large gaps in the maiden hurdles and beginners’ chases. Walsh knows what people are saying.

“People often give out about horses trying or not trying in these races, there being two or three races within a race but in a maiden hurdle or beginners’ chase, you are going to have horses of very different abilities competing.

“You have a Cheltenham winner in the beginners’ chase, you could have a future Gold Cup winner in the maiden hurdle, and you might have horses that will never win any sort of race.

“But, of course. if we think a rider isn’t doing enough, we will have an enquiry.”

Professional stewarding

There are more incidents, more enquiries. Everything seems to work well. What, you ask, about professional stewarding?

“We have Leighton Aspell as a stipendiary steward, who won two Grand Nationals as a rider. Andrew Ring rode a load of winners. Colman Sweeney won three Foxhunters’ at Cheltenham. Paul Deegan was assistant to Mick Channon and then trained himself on the Curragh. Hugh Hynes is with the IHRB around 20 years, while two of the more recent recruits, Pamela Hassett and Tiffany Dewberry, are around horses all their lives and Simon Murphy, has settled in well as a clerical assistant and is training in other roles now as well.

“You couldn’t say to Leighton, ‘What do you know about it?’ A man that won two Nationals. You can’t fool him. But you need a mix too and we are very lucky with the calibre of people we have, bringing different strengths.

“When you think of the judges and chief justices, the likes of Frank Clarke, Tony Hunt and Leonie Reynolds, all doing it voluntarily – you couldn’t pay them!”

Assessment and striving to improve is sewn into the entire process. All the videos are looked at by stewarding committee and there are stewarding seminars analysing controversial decisions.

The stipes go through them together separately too. And then, there are the meetings with the IHRF and EMHF stewards.

Meanwhile, there is a close relationship with the BHA. And just this very morning, Walsh has been on a webinar hosted by the Hong Kong stewards, as they bid to learn from one another. Crucially, Walsh emphasises, there is accountability.

Further information

“Maybe people think we look at the videos and move on, but if the executive aren’t happy with a decision that is made, Paul Murtagh, the head of raceday operations, writes to the chairman of the stewards and whatever stipendiary steward was sitting in, to ask for further information, to explain the decision they came to. And, if he’s not happy, he’ll put it before a referrals committee. And he did that five times in 2024.

“That’s new ground in terms of accountability and decision-making. It’s the level we’re going to try to increase the consistency of decision-making and it’s probably important that we are seen to be doing that too.

And, of course, that can be tough for raceday stewards and the stipes, but it’s all for the right reasons and that’s why all of us are learning every day.

It’s the way forward in terms of accountability and a rigorous process that above all, is fair and balanced.”

The work never ends. But Liam Walsh wouldn’t have it any other way.