Course News October 19th – 30th 2009
First Year Trainees
The Annual Darley Flying Start Conference was held on Wednesday, 28th October at the PGA National in Naas. Over 75 guests attended including racecourse managers, trainers, bloodstock agents, stud managers, veterinary surgeons, representatives of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, Irish Racehorse Trainers’ Association, Racing Academy Centre of Education, Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, Darley, Irish Equine Centre, University College Dublin Vet school and trainees’ parents. Each trainee gave a 15 minute presentation on a topic related to the Irish Racing Industry and was graded on their performance. This represented their final assignment in Ireland before they departed for Newmarket on Friday, October 30th.
Conference Presentation Topics
What is the impact of the current ecomonic situation on Irish Racing?
Bernard Condren (Ireland)
How is horse racing perceived by the non-participant?
Chris Armstrong (UK)
The cost, convenience and comfort of a day’s racing.
Ludovic Cornuel (France)
Quality of information for the racing enthusiast: media sources,internet, racecards. Yuan Zhou (China)
The betting experience.
Veer Vikram Singh Tomar (India)
Why is National Hunt more popular than Flat?
Jennifer Barnett (UK)
Alternative entertainment on racing days.
John B. Jessie (USA)
Corporate partnerships and sponsorships to promote racing.
Scott Calder (New Zealand)
Creating sporting heroes within the sport.
Victoria Leonard (New Zealand)
Ratings and Results: how can we use statistics to promote the sport?
Katherine Williams (USA)
Is a European Breeders’ Cup feasible?
Michael Wilson (USA)
Getting the next generation interested in horse racing.
Will Mayer (USA)
On Thursday, October 29th, the Annual Ambassador’s Lunch took place at Kildangan House. The British Ambassador, HE Mr Julian King and his wife Ms Lotte Knudsen attended and also the Chinese Ambassador, HE Mr Liu Biwei and his wife Mrs Fang Chun. Representatives from the New Zealand, French and American Embassies were also in attendance. 41 guests attended, which included Kildangan management and some key industry figures.
Following a brief tour of the stud and before sitting down to lunch, Alan Dukes addressed the guests. He spoke of his involvement in assessing the trainee’s business plans and how valuable the programme is to those successful candidates who strive for personal excellence in their careers in the thoroughbred industry. He expressed his admiration of Sheikh Mohammed for his vision in creating the programme.
Second Year Trainees
The second year trainees submitted their horse production stallion assignments and portfolio tasks for three units of their NVQ qualification this week. They departed the Hunter Valley on October 30th for a one week visit to Victoria which will include the Melbourne Cup carnival racing and visits to trainers and studs in and around Melbourne.
After their week in Melbourne the trainees will commence their four week work placements in Australia and New Zealand on Monday, November 9th. Six of the trainees will be based in Randwick, Sydney, three are destined for the Cambridge area of New Zealand while another three will be based at Flemington, Melbourne.