Denis Brosnan, the Irish Horseracing Authority chairman, yesterday admitted that Irish racing is bitterly split over the Minister for Finance's cash for merger proposal and warned that the industry has only a month to sort the problem out before Charlie McCreevy withdraws the offer.
'We've a month to go and that will be the end of it,' said Brosnan who used a number of evocative phrases to describe the effects of the differences which have plagued relations between the Turf Club and the IHA since the Minister's original proposal.
'At the precipice' and 'looking down the barrel of the gun' were some of the descriptions used by Brosnan who said he was deeply concerned and added that Minister could 'walk away, the nightmare scenario that we all dread'.
The IHA chairman was speaking at the publication of the IHA's annual report for 1999 and said: 'Today is May 29th and the final countdown is now. As things stand this will probably be all over by June 29th.'
The IHA chief executive Martin Moore later confirmed the end of June deadline is due to the Department of Finance's need of statistics and estimates as they start preparations for the next budget.
Brosnan described as a 'doomsday scenario' that effect of there being no increase in IHA budgetary revenue and peppered his comments with references to the 'bad old days' of 1994 before the IHA came into being.
'The IHA needs an extra £1.5 million just to stand still in the year 2000 and the Department have told us to forget about it if the McCreevy initiative is not accepted,' Brosnan said.
He warned the Turf Club and the Association of Irish Racecourses, who are currently formulating alternative proposals to the Minister's amalgamation for offcourse betting moneys that Charlie McCreevy 'seldom compromises'.
'The Minister has three options. He can implement his proposals in full or find compromises or thirdly he can walk away. Minister McCreevy seldom compromises,' said Brosnan.
The Turf Club objects to plans to amalgamate the Registry Office into one governing body while the AIR refuses to give up its media rights to that same body.
Brosnan again said that all sectors of the racing industry should be working together and declared: 'We are fighting over a small cake when we should be accepting the cake with gratitude.'
He also took a swipe at the Turf Club and said: 'The Turf Club has on deposit nearly £6 million and there is little point the Department of Finance handing over money if it ends up in a private club's deposit account.'
Brosnan added: 'This is undoubtedly the single biggest opportunity for the industry but it requires a commitment from all key sectors to bring about the changes necessary. The industry has reached a crossroads where it now needs to build on what has been achieved in the last five years. The prospects for the ongoing development of the industry are I believe bleak if it fails to grasp this opportunity.'
The actual IHA report was an upbeat one with Martin Moore declaring: 'The industry performed exceptionally well in 1999 and the figures so far indicate we can look forward to seeing continued growth this year across all sectors.'
The IHA will launch this week a new £250,000 advertising campaign which will include at least one advertisement a week in a national newspaper. The aim is to increase racecourse attendances this year to 1.4 million.
Crimplene has returned to Clive Brittain's Newmarket stable 24 hours after completing a memorable and unique Classic double in the Entenmann's Irish 1,000 Guineas. She had earlier taken the German equivalent. 'We'll aim her at the Coronation Stakes next - I think she'll be staying at a mile for now although the way she stayed on it looks like a mile and a quarter wouldn't be a problem said Brittain.
