The headquarters of the Turf Club in Ireland were destroyed in a major fire last night.
Six fire crews battled the blaze which erupted at the building near the Stand House Hotel, on the Curragh in Co Kildare, shortly after 7pm.
Cliff Noone, the press officer with the Turf Club.
Cliff Noone, press officer with the Turf Club, which is the regulatory body for Irish racing, said the building was destroyed and the roof had collapsed.
However, Mr Noone said around 85 per cent of the historical racing records dating back to 1790 have been saved. "We got about 85 per cent of the form books, going back 100-years, out of the fire, they were records of every race run in Ireland," Mr Noone said.
"We have lost a lot of paperwork and files, we don't know the extent of it yet. Whatever is lost, is lost."
Mr Noone said the organisation did not have replicas of the historical racing records. The Turf Club, which was founded in 1790, incorporates the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee (INHSC) and is responsible for both Flat and National Hunt racing in Ireland.
"It was a pretty extensive fire, the roof on the building has completely collapsed, as we are speaking I am standing across the road, and the back of the building is still ablaze. There are several fire crews and many gardai around, but it is under control," Mr Noone said.
Mr Noone said many of the racing records were kept behind a fire proof wall, which enabled the Turf Club to save them from the fire.
"A lot of our records would have been stored in the attack, unfortunately the roof is gone," he said. Around six fire crews from Kildare and Naas rushed to the scene after a passerby alerted security staff to the blaze at around 7.15pm. Mr Noone said: "We have no idea whatsoever how it started, that will have to be investigated. The offices was closed for the bank holiday weekend from 5pm on Friday."
There were no reports of any injuries in the fire.
PA