Chris Gordon has yet to receive either the High Court award or legal fees estimated to be in excess of €1m. Stock image
The Irish Racehorse Trainers Association does not have the money to pay a €300,000 libel award and substantial legal fees to a senior horse-racing official defamed by the organisation.
Chris Gordon, a former garda superintendent who is the head of security at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Body, sued the trainers’ association for orchestrating a campaign to damage his good name.
His claims were upheld by a unanimous jury in the High Court in 2020, and in December last year by the Court of Appeal. He was awarded €300,000 plus legal costs. However, Mr Gordon has yet to receive either the award or the legal fees that are estimated to be in excess of €1m.
In accounts filed last month, the association said it is €2m in debt and “does not currently have the funds to finance the matters ruled upon by the courts”.
“This may significantly impact on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern and to discharge its liabilities,” the latest accounts state.
The Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) was founded more than 70 years ago and represents some of Ireland’s leading trainers.
The association is funded through subscriptions and a percentage of prize winnings distributed through Horse Racing Ireland.
It is now facing an uncertain future as a result of its expensive and unsuccessful attempts to defend the defamation action brought by Mr Gordon in 2016.
As head of security, Mr Gordon led joint inspections with the Department of Agriculture of stable yards to deter doping.
He sued the IRTA after it wrongly accused him of concocting evidence during an inspection of a stable yard owned by Liz Doyle, a daughter of former Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle.
The High Court found that the IRTA had “advanced” the claims against Mr Gordon, having “no honest belief” in the allegations.
In his Court of Appeal judgment in December 2022, Mr Justice Brian Murray noted that the “campaign of defamation” emanated from “a powerful and extremely influential group within the horse-racing industry” who tried to prevent Mr Gordon from investigating their members.
He noted that Mr Gordon was boycotted by trainers, and his removal from his role as head of security with the horse-racing regulator was pursued through Horse Racing Ireland – the sport’s governing body.