SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – As the final races of the opening day of the Saratoga season are being run July 10, a reception to celebrate a collaboration linking racing and breeding in New York and Ireland will be beginning across the street at the National Museum of Racing.
The event sponsored by the New York State Breeding and Development Fund will honor Helena Nolan, the Consul General of Ireland in the U.S. and Suzanne Eade, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland. Nolan and Eade were principals with Brian O'Dwyer, the chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission and the fund, in developing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed in October.
The goal of the MOU is to forge ties between the two prominent racing precincts. The reception within view of America's oldest and most popular track is being promoted as an opportunity to further strengthen this new arrangement.
O'Dwyer was named to the commission and fund posts in 2022 and he brought with him a desire to do more than just serve as a regulator and administrator. The New York based attorney was the founder and first Chair of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, and served as advisor to the Clinton administration during the Northern Ireland peace process. He was appointed by President Clinton to the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows, and by Secretary Clinton to the U.S. Committee for UNESCO. An alliance with Ireland was a natural fit.
“I'm lucky enough to have a great connection with Ireland in my previous jobs,” O'Dwyer said. “The job of the Thoroughbred Fund is to promote Thoroughbred racing and Thoroughbreds. While we have done that a certain way, which is promoting with prizes and things of that sort, it occurred to me that the other way is to bring Thoroughbred horses into New York and have New York horses race in Ireland, an international thing. We were able to get the sponsorship of the Consul General of Ireland, who I know, who put me in touch with Horse Racing Ireland. This idea is the first step of promoting interchange between those so that we can, hopefully, by next year, have many more Irish horses racing in New York tracks and vice versa.”
O'Dwyer said he expects that connecting the New York and Irish racing and breeding will lead to more interest in purchasing New York-breds
“I consider this an important first step,” he said. “We haven't done this before and if this works out and we start getting a real market in Ireland, then we'll go on to England. It's our next step, and then maybe to France. We all know that international trade works, and if we can get new markets for New York state horses, then we've done a great job of promoting the breed.”
Eade has visited several American race tracks, but this will be her first time at Saratoga Race Course. She said that HRI was formed by the Irish government in 2001 as a semi-state body to promote horse racing and develop the Thoroughbred industry.
“I think the growth that's going to come from racing is through global cooperation,” she said. “We have historically had great relationships on a lot of trade areas with the U.S. Obviously, New York and Irish people have great connections, particularly Brian himself. He's built up a great relationship with our Consul General of Ireland in New York itself. A lot of the momentum has come from Brian and Helena. I suppose my ownership team and my chairman for Horse Racing Ireland has spent a lot of time in in the U.S. himself on different assignments in his other walks of life. For us, we've seen a lot of U.S. interest in in Ireland, in racing, in the purchase of thoroughbreds, and we've also seen a lot of Irish-bred horses do really well in the U.S.
“We've also seen a lot of U.S. owners choosing to participate in both forms of racing in Ireland, and the signing of this memorandum of understanding is to kind of put that on a more specific footing with the New York area. I think it could be quite exciting. The shape it will take, I think, will evolve as we work on specifics. We're looking at different things, like twinning race tracks. I think that could be great fun both ways, getting people to visit both jurisdictions and participate. We have very successful breeders here who do have locations in the U.S. We may not have focused on this particular area enough, and this affords us that opportunity.”
Tracy Egan, the fund's executive director, said that she expects several officials of the New York Racing Association to attend the reception and will want to promote their program.
“I'm sure they're going to be talking about the attractiveness of some of their turf racing, and also the fact that we're going to have an artificial track in Belmont.”
Egan noted that there is an all-weather track in Ireland at Dundalk, but that the new Belmont Park might be attractive to some owners and trainers.
“It would give their horses an option for racing in the winter,” she said. “All things are possible.”
Egan said the event at the racing museum will be something of an in-person launch following the agreement.
“Part of having this reception, I'm hoping, is going to be where we really create some enthusiasm for this,” she said. “So, it's not just something that's going to sit on a back burner, but something that can really move forward and create some leverage and cooperation so we can really see things happen in the next couple of years.”
Eade said she first met O'Dwyer in the June 2023 in discussions that led to the MOU.
“There is the shared goal of creating best practice and encourage educational collaboration and promote career opportunities across the two jurisdictions in both the racing and breeding industries,” she said. “Also, we will work together to enhance understanding on welfare and develop a shared recognition of safeguarding standards. As CEO of HRI, I am really looking forward to see what we can achieve through this relationship in the future.”
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