Three bookmakers have been awarded tens of thousands of euro by the High Court over the loss of their betting-ring pitch positions at Dundalk racecourse. The dispute arose following the €35 million redevelopment of the stadium in 2007 as an all-weather track.
Mr Justice Gerard Hogan awarded €48,376 to Newry-based bookie Patrick O'Hare and €41,484 to John Hughes, a prominent racing commentator on British TV. Earlier this month, he awarded €23,929 to Francis Hyland, an officer of the bookies' representative body, the Irish National Bookmakers Association.
Test cases
They represent three test cases brought on behalf of about 30 bookies who sued Dundalk Racing (1999) Ltd, trading as Dundalk Stadium, for breach of contract. The other cases are on hold, pending a possible appeal of the awards.
The bookies claimed Dundalk Racing breached their contracts under national rules by demanding an €8,000 capital contribution from each of them towards the redevelopment of the venue before they could resume business at what had been their established slots, or pitches, at the racecourse.
Dundalk Racing argued that as it was a new racecourse, not registered until 2007, seeking a contribution was not governed by national pitch rules.
Mr Justice Hogan found that the reopened stadium did not amount to a new racecourse for the purpose of the pitch rules, and that such a contribution could not be exacted from bookies with established seniority.
Lost profits
The bookies had claimed hundreds of thousands of euro in lost profits as a result of being unable to operate, but Mr Justice Hogan said he would only allow them to recover full losses sustained in the first 12 months from when the stadium reopened in 2007.
He applied an 80 per cent reduction for subsequent years because of their failure to mitigate the loss by taking up the pitches. In doing so, he was trying to reflect “the fact there was continuing fault on both sides”.
He further reduced Mr Hughes's damages by 20 per cent because he was one of a number of people who had participated in an illegal boycott of the stadium. The judge noted that Mr Hughes subsequently apologised for his behaviour following a complaint to Horse Racing Ireland.