Richard Pugh has been appointed Head of Racing & Insights with Horse Racing Ireland.

He will report to the new Director of Racing, Jonathan Mullin, and will be responsible for the management of the Racing Department and the Race Planning function.

Pugh joins Horse Racing Ireland after more than 10 years with Tattersalls Ireland. He has been their Director of Horses In Training Sales since 2015. He leaves the sales company and will step down with immediate effect as a Director of Point to Point Services, which he co-founded in 2003.

A long-serving committee member of the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners, Pugh has also held committee positions with the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing.

Data insights

Freya Hammer has been appointed Senior Data Insights Manager with HRI.

Reporting to the Head of Racing & Insights, Freya brings into the role a current and forensic knowledge of the betting landscape.

Freya has a Bsc in Financial Mathematics and Actuarial Science from University College Cork and joined Flutter as a Data Analyst in 2018, transitioning to Commercial Performance Manager in 2021.

Freya joined BoyleSports in 2022 and is currently Trading Business Insights Manager with the company.