RACING: Cautious optimism appears to have emerged ahead of this afternoon's crucial talks between Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the bookmakers over a proposed levy.

HRI has proposed increasing the levy on on-course bookmakers to one per cent to finance changes to racecourses, a move that has been vehemently opposed by the layers who already absorb the current 0.3 per cent levy themselves.

The Irish National Bookmakers Association (INBA) has said its members would have to pass on any increase to punters, and the impasse has already resulted in the New Year's Day deadline for the introduction of the new charge being postponed.

HRI is now hoping for kick-off on the 22nd of this month, the Thyestes meeting at Gowran, but that will depend on a successful outcome to today's talks.

There was some encouragement yesterday that the matter can be successfully resolved when the INBA chairman, Francis Hyland, sounded a cautiously optimistic note.

"We are certainly prepared to negotiate and we're reasonably hopeful of reaching agreement," Hyland said.

The INBA has already said that any betting levy would also have to be imposed on the betting exchanges, but one point HRI has continually insisted on is that the move should not result in an effective on-course betting tax on punters.

Yesterday, the HRI chief executive, Brian Kavanagh, said: "It is certainly not our intention to increase tax on punters. It would be wrong to try and predict things, but I look forward to what the bookmakers have to say."

The levy was originally proposed in the latest five-year plan published by HRI in 2003.