History Maker At The Heart Of Irish Racing

On Dec. 18, without fanfare, a small but significant footnote in the history of Irish racing was recorded when Meta Osborne became the first female Senior Steward of the sport's regulatory body, the Turf Club.

There are few, if any, nations where the sport of horseracing and business of Thoroughbred breeding are regarded more passionately and seriously than in Ireland. In that respect, Osborne can be seen almost as an embodiment of the twin pursuits. A commercial breeder with husband Dermot Cantillon through their Tinnakill House operation, and born to a family steeped in Thoroughbred lore, she retains the enthusiasm for racing of a genuine fan, even if these days it means carrying a notebook with her to the races.

She says, “People assume that as the Senior Steward I'm at every race meeting but the role is more like the government–making the legislation–so we oversee racing and make sure the rules are fit for purpose. I do go racing regularly though and I find there's often someone who comes to me to ask me about something, so I make a note to remind myself to look into it.”

Such a meticulous mind, not to mention her 'day job' as a vet specialising in equine fertility, has clearly helped in Osborne's rise though the sport's political ranks. Her Turf Club role means that she is also on the board of Horseracing Ireland (HRI–the body which oversees racing's administration and finances–and for the last year she has chaired the 16-member Anti-Doping Task Force, which was set up by the Turf Club and HRI in the wake of trainer Philip Fenton's ban for administering banned substances to his horses. The Task Force published its far-reaching recommendations, including lifetime bans for horses which have been given prohibited substances, on Feb. 4.

Despite such influential roles in the sport, the mother of four maintains a defiantly down-to-earth outlook on her situation.

“I never envisaged being Senior Steward. I've been a member of the Turf Club for 10 years and growing up I probably never even thought I'd be that. The first female member of the Turf Club was Sonia Rogers and that was only 31 years ago,” says Osborne, who served as Deputy Senior Steward to Neville O'Byrne for two years and now has fellow owner-breeder Harry McCalmont as her deputy. “I liken it to being a member of a tennis club. It's no good just complaining about the state of the nets and the courts. If you want to improve things, you get yourself on the committee to try to get things done.”

Her practical approach will almost certainly ensure that Osborne makes her mark during her two-year tenure and is a notable Senior Steward beyond simply being female. However, she is quick to deflect credit for the recent Anti-Doping Task Force report.

“Its publication came six weeks into my term as Senior Steward and people seemed to think that I had got so much done in my first few weeks, but in actual fact we first met last February,” said Osborne. “It was a long process and it just so happened that it came out last week. It was a really interesting process because, certainly in Ireland, it was the first time that all the stake-holders were round the table, so you had breeders, owners, trainers, the regulation authority, the promoter of racing, sales companies. They were all there, and all with well expressed views, not always sharing the same views but there was lots of robust discussion.”

She adds, “What was really gratifying was that we asked that the details of our meetings were kept confidential and that was really well adhered to. I think when people came to meet us they really felt that they could speak freely.”

Almost a year after the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) published its enhanced anti-doping policy with a zero-tolerance approach to anabolic steroids, Ireland's rules are in similar vein, though there is an exemption option for therapeutic anabolic steroid use in exceptional circumstances by application to the Turf Club, and a harsher penalty for any horse found to have been administered banned substances.

Osborne comments, “We had the advantage of being able to consider the BHA's guidelines and being able to look at them in an Irish context and maybe adapt them slightly. Everyone around the Task Force table wanted it to be right for Ireland and not just a reaction. I'm pleased it got to where it is now. One of the most important things is that the Task Force reconvenes as an exercise to see how we got on and how it has evolved.”

She continues, “I describe it to people as a road map not a destination. We're not just going to put the report on the shelf and say 'there you go, that's anti-doping'. It's a series of recommendations which everyone around the table has bought into but of course the devil is in the detail and we have to put the protocols in place to make sure it works.”

Osborne's primary role as an equine vet–an occupation she shares with her late father Michael, the former Manager of the Irish National Stud and revered racing administrator, as well as her brother John, the current Chief Executive of the Irish National Stud–doubtless helped in tackling the complex issues dealt with in the report.

She says, “The welfare aspect was something that I was very strong on. I think we have a responsibility to the animals under our care and in how we look after them. We live in a bubble but it's a transparent bubble and we don't want people looking from the outside thinking instantly of racing and drugs. We need to be pro-active and say, 'we're not tolerating it'.”

Osborne has a serious rival for the number of different roles held in Irish racing and breeding from within her own household. Dermot Cantillon is not only hands-on at the home farm of Tinnakill House, but also oversees the Smurfit family's Forenaghts Stud, is a board member of Goffs and Chairman of Naas Racecourse, as well as being a past Chairman of both the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association and Tote Ireland. “Dermot is always very involved on the Tinnakill side of things,” says Osborne. “I'm maybe not as involved as much at the moment as I'd like to be but we have a really good manager in Ian Thompson and the place runs like clockwork thanks to him. On the veterinary side I've just taken on a second assistant. At Tinnakill we're foaling around 30 mares and we have a number of maiden and barren mares so there's plenty going on. We're revamping the website and I really love writing the blog for that.”

The couple's four children, Jack, Lily, Tom and Rose, have steered a different path on the professional front but have done so en masse.

“Two have graduated with law degrees and the other two are in college studying law,” says their mother. “But they have always followed racing and enjoyed it. Jack started the Trinity College Horseracing Society, Lily was on the committee and Tom and Rose are now on the committee, and Tom and Lily have both been tour guides at the Irish National Stud as a summer job.”

Despite grappling with key racing issues on a daily basis, Osborne's conversation is regularly punctuated by laughter. It's not that she doesn't take her multi-faceted role seriously, more that she has an infectious and natural sense of fun which is aided by the contentment of a life being lived to the full.

“I'd like to have more time to go to the cinema and art galleries and to read but I still manage to fit it in and I love all of this,” she offers. “I always say that working in racing is a way of life rather than a lifestyle but if you're enjoying it, it's not difficult.”