John Morris Headshot
The Racing Department, led by Jason Morris, Director of Racing and Strategic Projects, is responsible for the annual allocation of approximately 390 race fixtures to 26 Irish racecourses and the creation of all racing programmes.


The department has budgetary responsibility for annual prize-money distribution, including HRI's direct contribution and has control of the Racecourse Capital Development Programme. 

The racecourse services provided by HRI including starting stalls, photo finish and the production of integrity pictures come under the Racing Department's remit.

The Racing Department has direct responsibility for the key areas of horse racing administration in Ireland. HRI maintain the Racing Administration System which allows trainers, jockey's agents and owners' access online to carry out their day-to-day racing administration using mobile devices such as desktops, smartphones and tablets. 

The Registrations team oversees the naming of racehorses through the Weatherbys Studbook, registration of ownership for racing purposes (including partnerships, syndicates, companies and clubs) and registration of owners colours and authorities to act, along with the maintenance of the record of horses returned in and out of training in Ireland.

Responsible for the production of the various stages of Entries and Declarations, on an almost daily basis, including the acceptance of entries, checking to see that horses are qualified to run, the allocation of weights and the declaration to run of horses and jockeys at the overnight stage. All entries, forfeits, declarations and rider bookings may be made by trainers through the Racing Administration System and any queries relating to racecourse going reports, horse's handicap ratings, balloting and the Racing Administration System in general can be directed to our Customer Support Executive

The Publications team compile and publish the weekly edition of the Irish Racing Calendar which contains HRI Directive changes and Rules of Racing changes, in addition to the upcoming race programmes, while the Irish Form Book contains the official Irish race results. Both of these publications are available on an annual subscription basis and are a useful industry tool for racing professionals. Publications also provide the racecard information on all Irish meetings to the racecard suppliers and various media outlets. 

Race Planning compiles the annual Fixture List for Irish racing, comprising of approximately 390 meetings each year, and reschedules any cancelled fixtures. The race planning team create all race programmes after consulting with the racecourses and key user groups. They publish the provisional summaries showing a three-month programme of races and then weekly schedules are published in the Irish Racing Calendar and on the HRI RÁS website. Race Planning annually review the status and number of Pattern races run in Ireland each year.

Responsible for the provision and maintenance of mobile track equipment – including starting stalls, front-of-stalls team, photo finish and camera patrol equipment.  Stall Handlers, Front Of Stalls and the Photo Finish Unit come under the HRI remit, while the Camera Patrol Unit is supplied by an outside company, IRIS under contract to HRI and AIR. 

Photo finish prints are available for all races run in Ireland since January 1st, 2009. The prints are A4 in size and similar to the prints that are posted at the racecourse. Your print will contain the name of the racecourse, the date of the race meeting, the title of the race and finishing position of your horse.

To order your print, priced at €20 per copy, please download the form and return to HRI.

John Morris

Tel: 045 455410 Email: [email protected]

As HRI’s Director of Racing Jason has an extensive and varied range of responsibilities including: annual production of the Irish fixture list; creation of all race programmes; central allocation of prize money; evaluation of grants for all racecourse capital development projects; media rights negotiations on behalf of the industry; production of pictures to be broadcast for integrity and commercial purposes; control over the racecourse services provided by HRI (operation of the starting stalls and photo finish); and responsibility for the key areas of racing administration: acceptance of entries/declarations for races; registration of horses/owners; production and publication of the form book, racing calendar and race cards.

Kenneth Fenton

Email: [email protected]

Kenneth is Horse Racing Ireland’s Racing Department Manager, with responsibility for some of the key areas of racing administration in Ireland. He oversees the registrations, entries & declarations and publications sections of the department and ensures that the primary focus is always on efficiency for our racing clients while maintaining the integrity required by the HRI Directives and Rules of Racing in general. 

Shane Doyle

Tel: 045 455431   Email: [email protected]

As Horse Racing Ireland Race Planning Manager, Shane oversees the compilation of the Fixture List and rescheduling of cancelled meetings, as well the production of the Race Programme each year. The Fixture List process involves liaising with the Racecourses and Fixtures Committee to produce a fixture list which aims to best fit the requirements of the racecourses and the horse population. Race Programming involves coordinating and monitoring the quality of the Pattern races, both Flat and National Hunt, and subsequently producing a programme of race at each meeting, for ratification by the Programmes Committee, which strives to provide competitive racing while giving opportunities for each horse to run.

Victor Quinlan

Tel: 045 455441  Email: [email protected]

Victor is responsible for administering the €100 million HRI Capital Development Fund to improve the Customer, Industry and Racetrack facilities across the 26 Racecourses in Ireland. Projects include new builds and refurbishment of grandstands, bars & restaurants, TOTE facilities, weigh room & first aid facilities, track drainage & watering schemes. This five year development scheme will see public and industry facing facilities improved to enhance the race day experience for both patrons and employees alike.

Privacy