RUBY Walsh has called on Horse Racing Ireland to hold firm in the event of pressure from racecourses to make their racing programmes more betting-friendly.

Speaking at Naas Racecourse last weekend, at a dinner to mark the track’s 100th anniversary, Walsh noted that a media rights deal came into effect on January 1st. Under the new arrangement, he said, racecourse payments will be driven by betting turnover.

“We are moving to the same model Britain has. How many runners a race attracts will start to become a factor,” Walsh said, adding that evidence suggests fields with eight runners or more tend to generate more betting.

“Irish racecourses will soon realise that big-field handicaps are the most profitable races they will run, and they will join the chorus of the people looking to restructure the Irish National Hunt programme,” Walsh said.

The former champion jockey, who acknowledged his roles with Racing TV and Paddy Power, urged Horse Racing Ireland to maintain its control over the fixture list, or it risks a dumbing down of the racing calendar which, he said, has happened in Britain, to the detriment of their industry and to the benefit of Irish racing.

“HRI has to ensure we keep the vast droves of quality horses we have, and tearing up the programme book won’t drive owners to other Irish trainers; it will just drive the British ones back to the UK or off to France.”

Walsh, who made similar comments in the Irish Examiner last weekend, added: “It is vital we don’t make the same mistakes British racing has made.

“We have attracted a huge amount of British-based owners into Ireland because they don’t believe in the English model, the way it is now.

“When you go to a performance-related media rights model you have to race more and more to make it pay. That dilutes the product.

“Irish racing is attractive to owners because we have the trainers and we have the programme that allows you to prepare horses for the big Festivals. We have a programme that works.

“A lot of people want to change the National Hunt programme but if you force owners to run their horses in handicaps you are shattering the dream.

“Look at Naas Racecourse – the shareholders don’t take a dividend. They race for the benefit of the sport and the local community. That doesn’t happen in Britain where most racecourses are run as a business.”