THIS year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Irish European Breeders’ Fund.

The EBF was set up in 1983 primarily to boost prize money for two-year-old maiden races.

Representatives from Ireland and Britain came together and asked stallion owners to make a voluntary contribution to the fund, based on the average value of one nomination for each stallion.

In what was a fantastic example of industry self-help, virtually every thoroughbred stallion farm signed up to the scheme and the money collected was directed into the British and Irish racing programme. Crucially, only the progeny of EBF-registered stallions can run in EBF-sponsored races.

Major Victor McCalmont of Ballylinch Stud was the first chairman of the European Breeders’ Fund and also the first Irish EBF chairman.

The French also joined the scheme in 1983, with Germany and Italy coming on board in 1986 and Switzerland in 1989.

So popular is the scheme now that leading Japanese stud Shadai Farms has made sure most of its stallions are EBF-registered, as does Kentucky stud Lane’s End, home to the unbeaten Flightline.

The Irish EBF administers the scheme wholly in Ireland, where contributions from Irish stallion farms are collected and then redistributed as prize money in Ireland the following year. Since 1983 the Irish EBF has put over €57 million into Irish prize money. This year’s contribution is a record €2.7 million.

EBF co-ordinating committee chairman John O’Connor said: “It’s a very cohesive piece of support from the stallion masters right across Europe. Big, small, National Hunt, flat and that cohesion is really important. It’s a way for the stallion industry to give back to the industry that it generates its income from.”

Irish EBF board members, who serve in a voluntary capacity, are tasked each year with how to enhance and activate the Irish EBF spend for the benefit of Irish racing, something they take great pride in. So much so they played a significant role in the creation of Irish Champions Festival, over 10 years ago.

The board is composed of the main contributing farms and represent both flat and National Hunt. Current members are Joe Foley (Chairman) Tom Gaffney (Deputy Chairman), Cathal Beale, Stephen Collins, Pat Downes, William Flood, Christy Grassick, Harry McCalmont, Eamon Moloney, Annette O’Callaghan, Henry O’Callaghan, John O’Connor, David O’Loughlin and Joe Osborne.

Captain Sean Berry was manager of the Irish office from 1983 to 2005. Nessa Joyce was appointed Irish EBF manager in 2015, succeeding Angela Brown, who was employed by the Irish EBF from 1996 until 2015.

Racing industry salutes Irish EBF

“On this milestone for the Irish EBF their longstanding and continued support of Irish racing is beyond measure. The contribution that the Irish EBF make to Irish racing every year is of huge significance and there is no doubt that the organisation’s continued support of Irish racing has played a major role in shaping the world class thoroughbred industry that we have today.” - Ryan McElligott, Irish Rachorse Trainers Association

“The EBF is a wonderful example of industry collaboration and, as the largest sponsor in Irish Racing, we have much to thank it for. From its inception 40 years ago, the objective has been to link thoroughbred racing and breeding under the unifying theme of excellence.” -

Suzanne Eade, Horse Racing Ireland

“The Irish EBF is an invaluable asset to the Irish racing industry. Through the expertise available on their board, Irish racing has enjoyed some of the most innovative, transformative and successful initiatives over the years that have contributed to make the Irish equine industry a global leader. From an owners perspective, we are extremely grateful for their continued sponsorship of races all over the country, their contribution to the prize money pot annually is appreciated and hopefully will continue for years to come.” - Regina Byrne, Association of Irish Racehorse Owners

“We’ve been lucky to partner with the Irish EBF since 2017 when we launched the Foran Equine 2YO Auction Series which led to the Connolly’s Red Mills Auction Hurdle Series. Both sponsorships exceeded our expectations, and we recognise the platform the Irish EBF created, enabling us as a business to contribute back to the industry. The support we have received from the Irish EBF has been invaluable and we are very grateful for their foresight and innovative thinking that has helped support and grow the industry.” -

Gareth Connolly, Connolly’s Red Mills

An outstanding idea which has stood the test of time

We asked Irish EBF chairman Joe Foley about the organisation’s work

Q: Why do you think the Irish EBF has survived 40 years?

JF: It was a very good concept in the first place. Stallion owners voluntarily set up a fund to help prize money in individual countries, because they recognised the value of prize money to the whole industry. Whatever can be done to increase prize money should be done. It was an outstanding idea and, 40 years later, stallion owners are very happy to continue the programme.

Q: What percentage of stallion farms support the Irish EBF?

JF: There is 100% support among Irish stallion owners for the EBF, both on the flat and National Hunt. It covers Northern Ireland too. There is a fair system which determines each stallion’s contribution. It is thanks to the generous voluntary contributions from all stallion owners and managers that allowed us to spend a record €2.7m on Irish prize-money this year.

Q: Is there a lot of work involved in running the scheme?

JF: It runs very well, the template is there. We have a very good manager in Nessa Joyce and we have a governors’ meeting five times a year. It’s something I enjoy doing.

The race programme is there. Mostly we sponsor maidens and support listed races but we like to enhance it.

We now have the various auction and median series races for two-year-olds, plus the Connolly’s Red Mills Auction series over hurdles which is a great partnership. We like co-sponsoring on series race as it enhances the profile of the series and is a win-win for everyone. The Irish EBF is not trying to sell anything so there is a commercial opportunity there for a sponsor to add their name to an Irish EBF race.

Q: Is there a danger of the Irish EBF being taken for granted?

JF: Maybe some years ago there was a danger of the that happening. The EBF acronym appeared on the race title but perhaps not everyone knew what it meant, so we changed it to Irish Stallion Farms EBF and that improved our visibility.

We’ve done a lot more racecourse marketing so that now racecourse managers, winning owners and racegoers understand the EBF money is coming directly from stallion owners.

Q: Does the Irish EBF put money into anything else other than prize money?

JF: The vast majority of our funds go into prize money. That’s what the EBF was set up for. But we also support Treo Eile, a not-for-profit organisation which helps with the retraining and rehoming of thoroughbreds, and the Racing Academy and Centre of Education [RACE]. The ITM Barrier Trials and the Irish Equine Centre also receive support from the Irish Europeans Breeders’ Fund.

Original board of trustees in 1983

Major Victor McCalmont (Chairman)

Jonathan Irwin (Executive Vice Chairman)

Robert Lanigan (Coolmore Stud)

Brendan Kelly (Woodford Stud)

Liam Cashman (Rathbarry Stud)

Walter Brophy (Airlie Stud)

Major John H. de Burgh (Oldtown Stud)

John Muldoon (Gilltown Stud)

Patrick McGrath (Brownstown Stud)

Sean Collins (Corbally Stud)

Irish EBF support for Irish racing

  • Since 1983, the overall spend is over €57 million directly into Irish racing
  • Each year the board decide the prize money spend
  • In 2023 a record €2.7m was allocated directly to Irish prize money
  • HRI administer the additional money by adding it to the prize money, the amount is always published in the racecard.

    • Irish EBF chairmen

    Major Victor McCalmont, 1983-1993

    Sean Collins MRCVS 1993-1999

    Harry McCalmont, 1999-2008

    John Clarke, 2008-2010

    John O’Connor MRCVS, 2010-2021

    Joe Foley, 2021-present

    The Irish EBF scheme – how It works

  • Contributions are collected annually on a voluntary basis at the year of covering.
  • The contributions paid are based on a sliding scale relative to each stallion’s nomination fee and number of mares covered in a season.
  • Funds collected are re-directed into prizemoney the following year.
  • Once a stallion is registered, his progeny will carry EBF Eligible status at public auction and once they reach racing age, they can enter any EBF race in Europe to avail of the extra prize money.

    • Irish EBF races

  • EBF races carry conditions that only allow EBF eligible horses enter and avail of the extra prize money. In 2023 the EBF spend is €2.7 million.
  • There are nearly 500 EBF-supported races throughout the year with about 75% of these flat races and the rest National Hunt.
  • Mainstay of the flat spend is two-year-old maidens with about 95% carrying EBF conditions.
  • Auction Series – 24 races, two finals (€50,000 over six furlongs & €120,000 over seven furlongs). Oveall prize fund of €750,000.
  • Median Sires Series – to complement the auction series, 26 races and the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes as a showcase. Only progeny of stallions with an established median price of €72,000 or less can enter.
  • Three-year-olds and upwards also benefit from the annual spend with a large proportion of the maidens with EBF conditions and a strong focus on fillies’ handicaps.
  • In 2023 it was decided to support all listed races to a minimum of €50,000 for fillies and €40,000 for all others.
  • Nine premier handicaps – highlighted during Irish Champions Festival where there are four Irish EBF Premier Handicaps worth €150,000 each.
  • The National Hunt race supports continues to focus on mares races, with about 50% of the National Hunt allocation targeted at mares’ chases, hurdle and bumper races. The popular Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Hurdle Series, worth nearly €400,000, has 16 qualifying races and a €75,000 final at the Punchestown Festival which is backed up by the Irish EBF Auction Bumper Series with six races worth €15,000 each over the season.