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The Curragh, 02 July 2026 – The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has today published its Annual Report for 2025, highlighting a year of continued regulatory modernisation, strengthened governance, enhanced integrity and sustained investment in the safety and welfare of both human and equine participants.
The report marks the midpoint of the IHRB's Statement of Strategy 2024–2027 and outlines significant progress in strengthening governance, advancing regulatory reform, enhancing equine and rider welfare, and laying the foundations for the next phase of the organisation's digital transformation.
Publishing the report, IHRB CEO Darragh O'Loughlin said: "2025 represented the midpoint of our four-year Statement of Strategy and an important milestone in the transformation of the IHRB. During the year we continued to strengthen governance, modernise our regulatory framework and invest in the systems, people and processes that underpin effective regulation. Above all, we maintained a relentless focus on the safety and wellbeing of our human and equine participants. While much of this work is structural in nature, it will deliver lasting benefits for the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of racing regulation in the years ahead.
“I would like to thank our staff, officials, volunteers and stakeholders for their professionalism and commitment throughout another demanding year, and our colleagues in HRI and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for their ongoing support."
Highlights from the 2025 Annual Report include:
Regulatory Modernisation: Significant progress was made on the comprehensive Rulebook Project. Work also continued on modernising disciplinary procedures, operational guidance and regulatory processes to improve clarity, consistency and transparency.
Governance and Organisational Reform: The IHRB continued to embed strengthened governance arrangements introduced under its Statement of Strategy, including enhanced financial oversight, procurement governance, internal audit, risk management and Board governance structures.
Safety and Welfare: The IHRB continued to strengthen its focus on the safety and welfare of both human and equine participants through enhanced racecourse safety training involving more than 400 participants, the nationwide transition to non-birch hurdles with new white obstacle markings, the launch of a public consultation on proposed Thoroughbred Welfare Standards, ongoing concussion management and research, and continued collaboration with national and international partners to promote best practice across the sport.
Integrity and Regulatory Delivery: The Racing Regulation and Integrity function continued to evolve through enhanced integrity oversight, further development of the Rulebook Project, ongoing anti-doping programmes and the continued work of the Raceday Integrity Officer network supporting fair and transparent regulation.
Operational Resilience: The IHRB provided regulatory oversight for 488 racecourse and Point-to-Point fixtures during 2025, including the highest number of Point-to-Point fixtures in five years. Despite weather-related challenges throughout the year, the racing programme was delivered with minimal disruption through close collaboration between the IHRB, HRI, racecourses and Hunt Committees.
People, Research and International Leadership: The IHRB continued to invest in participant welfare through research into concussion, injury prevention and jockey wellbeing, while playing a leading role in organising the International Conference for Health, Safety and Welfare of Jockeys in Hong Kong. The organisation also continued to expand professional development and safety training for officials and participants.
Commenting on the report, IHRB Chairperson Jill Farrell said: "The progress outlined in this Annual Report reflects an organisation continuing to strengthen its regulatory capability while remaining focused on its core purpose of safeguarding the integrity, welfare and reputation of Irish racing. During 2025 the Board oversaw continued advancement of the objectives set out in the Statement of Strategy, while recognising the professionalism and dedication of the staff, officials, volunteers and industry participants whose commitment underpins Irish racing every day. As we look ahead, the Board remains committed to supporting continued modernisation, transparency and evidence-based regulation in line with international best practice."
The full Annual Report 2025 is available to view here from the IHRB website.
ENDS