A new year and we can’t say a new kid on the block but rather a venerable established one as the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association (ITBA) is delighted to join Owner Breeder from this month to give its wide circle of readers an insight into and news from the Irish breeding industry.
Established nearly 100 years ago – we have a big centenary year in 2026 – the ITBA is the official representative body of the Irish thoroughbred breeding industry at government level, both at home and internationally.
We support and represent all breeders, big and small, Flat and National Hunt, across the island of Ireland, from Derry and Antrim in the North to Kerry and Cork in the south, from Galway and Mayo in the west to Dublin and Louth in the east. We were an association up to July 2024 when we became a limited company with a very experienced and knowledgeable board of directors eaded by our proactive Chairwoman, Cathy Grassick (Newtown Stud), and highly experienced Vice Chair, Cathal Beale (CEO, Irish National Stud). Backing them up on a day-today basis are a dedicated office staff based at our HQ beside Goffs in Kill in Co. Kildare.
Our mission is not only to safeguard the future of the Irish thoroughbred breeding industry and keep it firmly at the top of the premier division but also to safeguard the health and welfare of
the thoroughbred breed, a task ever more important in the current climate. We do this by supporting, educating, promoting and advocating for all Irish breeders.
As all of us in the industry know, there are many headwinds that we face so we are delighted to liaise and work closely with our counterparts in the UK via the TBA, Europe via the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders Associations (EFTBA) and globally via bodies such as the International Thoroughbred Breeders’ Federation (ITBF).
As Nelson Mandela said, “the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow” so through our ITBA Next Generation wing (members must be under 30) we provide a platform for young people
to get an in-depth insight into the breeding and racing industry. Run by an energetic committee that organises seminars, stud and racing yard visits, it is underpinned by our recently reintroduced internship programme. This programme is very popular and gives four young individuals the opportunity to learn about different facets of the industry through a series of placements over a year.
That will give you a very good flavour of who we are and what we are about.
There is never a dull moment in this industry, with the past 12 months seeing issues like the importation of Arvac, the proposed new EU Transport Directive, the Primetime RTE programme on
equine welfare and new initiatives on traceability from our Department of Agriculture, all coming to the fore.
As we grapple with these matters, working in partnership in many cases with our overseas counterparts, we also have successfully enhanced some of our existing initiatives. For example, our
NH Fillies Bonus Scheme, established in 2013 to stimulate demand for NH fillies, saw its initial bonus increase from €5,000 to €7,500 for eligible Irishbreds, so potentially an owner who
wins three races in this series could net €17,500 in total on top of their prizemoney.
Owners really appreciate this initiative – like the UK, prize-money, or lack of, is a big headache here too. Engagement is key for any industry body, so we have had an active year of forums and seminars. These included ‘Girl Power: The Importance of Fillies in Breeding & Racing’ – a seminar we held at the Curragh in July with a stellar panel including luminaries like Dermot Weld, Jessica Harrington, Pat Downes and Willie Mullins, and our first foray into the political sphere with our ‘Paddock to Parliament’ seminar on Halloween night. This was definitely a treat rather than a trick as Jane Mangan chaired an evening of insightful discussion on the intersections of politics, bloodstock, and agriculture with distinguished panellists including Minister Pippa Hackett, Senator Fiona O’Loughlin and recently elected MEP Nina Carberry, the last-named showing that her ability in the saddle will shortly be matched by her political nous.
We look forward to being a well-thumbed page in Owner Breeder and over the next 12 months we will be keeping you abreast of what is happening in the industry in Ireland, as well as giving you an insight into some of the interesting people and places that have helped shape our industry into the global force it is today.
