Eye on Sport
Emma Meehan... Charting Down Royal’s New Future The future of Down Royal Racecourse, Northern Ireland’s premier horse racing venue and one of a handful of Grade 1 tracks on the island, might have looked uncertain last year....but it was always secure, says the venue’s new Chief Executive.
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mma Meehan arrived at a deserted Down Royal on the 2nd of January this year with a large bunch of keys but little else. The venue had hosted its traditional Boxing Day meeting a few days earlier under the outgoing stewardship of former tenants, the Down Royal Company of Horsebreeders. At the turn of the year, the old guard departed and course owners Merrion Property Group took over the reins. “When I arrived here at the start of January, the former staff (only one member of staff made the transition to the new regime) had gone and I wasn’t sure which key worked in which lock,” she smiles. It could all have been a bit overwhelming. But you get the impression that Emma Meehan wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed. A Newry native, she’s been steeped in the racing industry in Ireland for the past 14 years, having been an integral part of the team at Dundalk Racecourse, Ireland’s only all-weather track
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and a dual venue for both horse and greyhound racing. In fact, Emma led a team which secured Horse Racing Ireland funding for the development of Dundalk’s £35 million all-weather stadium. “I suppose I always liked the thought of running my own racecourse, so when this opportunity came up, I didn’t have
to think about it for too long,” adds Emma, a Queen’s University graduate who started her career in the communications sector locally. She’s prepared for a contrast between Dundalk and Down Royal. “At Dundalk, between greyhounds and an all-weather horse racing track, we had race meetings all the time. It was pretty much
non-stop. Here at Down Royal, by contrast, we have 12 race days a year and we’re aiming to increase that to 13 by 2020 or 2021.” Back in January, she had almost no time to get her thoughts and plans together before the pressure was well and truly on. “We had a meeting to plan for the 29th of January so we had to hit the
