The State and the owners of Punchestown racecourse have agreed the terms of a deal that is designed to end a four-year dispute over lands leased for racing at the track. Barry O'Halloran reports.
The deal, which has to be approved by the members of Kildare Hunt Club (KHC), which owns Punchestown and its surrounding lands, will copperfasten a rescue plan put in place by State body Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) in 2002. At that time, the business was losing €500,00 a-year.
Under its terms, HRI has agreed to repay the billionaire Getty family a €4 million loan it advanced to Punchestown under the "passports for investment scheme".
The Gettys gave the loan through a company, GT Equinus. Earlier this year, the firm began High Court proceedings to recover its cash. The case is due to be heard early next month.
GT Equinus had originally agreed to settle for a repayment of just over €2 million. This should have been paid in March, but the dispute resulted in the payment being delayed.
While HRI has been managing the racecourse since 2002, it has had ongoing differences over leases granted to the State body over KHC's landbank as security for a €1.6 million debt.
HRI established a joint venture with the club to rescue the course in 2002, when it was losing money. However, the arrangement was never formally approved, as a number of KHC members were opposed to the leases granted to the State body.
They argued that the leases could end up giving HRI ownership of Punchestown's entire 189 hectare estate. The racecourse occupies around one quarter of the entire landbank.
However, HRI has always argued that it does not want ownership of the estate, and only wants to guarantee that racing continues there.
As part of the new deal, all parties will voluntarily agree to invalidate the existing leases, and draw up new ones covering only the land required for racing.
HRI will receive security over the freehold of the land used for racing. The new leases will run for a minimum of 35 years.
Blackhall Racing, which operates and manages the racecourse, will pay rent of €50,000 a-year to the club for the land.
HRI and KHC are both represented on the Blackhall board, but the State body had the right to veto any chairman appointed by the hunt club.
Under the terms of the new deal HRI will appoint a chairman for the next four years, and the hunt club will have the right to appoint a chairman for the succeeding four years.
Racing at Punchestown has returned to profitability since HRI took over in 2002. This year, it is on target to make a surplus of €600,000. Its main meeting, the four-day national hunt festival in April, attracted record crowds this year.
