Irish trainers' association €2m in debt and unable to pay Chris Gordon after losing libel case against former IHRB security chief

Accounts filed by the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association last month show the organisation is €2 million in debt and cannot afford to pay €300,000 to Chris Gordon, the head of security for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, or his legal costs of an estimated €1m as it was ordered to do after losing a libel case in 2020. 

Gordon sued the IRTA as he felt he had been subjected to an “orchestrated and severe campaign” against his good name and his claims were unanimously upheld by a jury after a 30-day trial. He was awarded €300,000 in damages as well as legal costs. 

The IRTA challenged that decision but lost again in the Court of Appeal in December 2022. The IRTA is registered as a company limited by guarantee (CLG) and is believed to have little in the way of tangible assets, renting an office on the site of the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE). Its CLG status means its liability is limited to £5 – in old Irish punts – per member.

The association is funded through subscriptions and a percentage of prize winnings distributed through Horse Racing Ireland.

Members of the IRTA were contacted on Tuesday by the Racing Post about the Gordon case, but nobody was willing to comment. 

Read more:

Chris Gordon wins €300,000 against Irish trainers body in case that cost €1m 

Irish trainers' body loses appeal in defamation case that could run to millions

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