Shark Hanlon ruling might have divided social media - but legal heavyweights add real substance to these decisions

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) is no stranger to controversy. Its effectiveness and efficiency as a disciplinary body are increasingly questioned within the sport, and in the Irish political arena.

However, in one key area, the IHRB is exemplary. It has created an appeals and referrals process that works rigorously and even-handedly to protect the integrity of a disciplinary regime subject to inevitable flaws in its everyday running. For example, it has often proved its worth by reversing faulty decisions made by volunteer amateur stewards operating under time constraints on a raceday.

The body has adjudicated two recent high-profile cases. The seriousness of intent behind this quasi-judicial forum can be inferred from the personnel involved. The animal welfare case involving trainer Luke W Comer was chaired by one of Ireland's most distinguished legal figures, the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland Siobhan Keegan, a former barrister and now a member of the UK's Privy Council.