Racing Board and Racecourses Act , 1945

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Racing Board and Racecourses Act, 1945.

2 Definitions.

2.—In this Act—

the expression “authorised officer of the Board” means a person appointed in writing by the Board to be an authorised officer for the purposes of Part III of this Act;

the expression “authorised racecourse” means a racecourse at which race meetings are held with the sanction of either or both of the Governing Bodies;

the expression “the Board” means the Racing Board established by this Act;

the expression “course bet” means a bet entered into by a licensed bookmaker, during a race meeting held on an authorised racecourse and at that authorised racecourse or in the precincts thereof, on a horse race forming an item at that race meeting;

the expression “course-betting permit” means a permit granted by the Board under section 24 of this Act;

the expression “the dissolved company” means the company known as the Board of Control for Mechanical Betting in Ireland dissolved by this Act;

the expression “the establishment date” means the date appointed to be the establishment date for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 3 of this Act;

the word “executive”, in relation to an authorised racecourse means the person who owns or exercises control over that racecourse;

the expression “Governing Body” means any body being—

(a) the Irish Turf Club, or

(b) the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee;

the word “levy” means a levy payable under section 27 of this Act;

the expression “licensed bookmaker” means a person who is for the time being the holder of a bookmaker's licence issued to him under the Betting Act, 1931 (No. 27 of 1931);

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

the word “precincts”, in relation to an authorised racecourse, means any place adjacent to that racecourse to which the public habitually resort for the purpose of watching racing;

the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Board under this Act;

the expression “totalisator licence” means a licence granted under the Totalisator Act, 1929 (No. 22 of 1929);

the expression “the transfer date” means the date appointed to be the transfer date for the purposes of this Act by order of the Minister made under section 3 of this Act.

3 Establishment date and transfer date.

3.—(1) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the establishment date for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the transfer date for the purposes of this Act.

PART II. The Racing Board.

4 Establishment of the Board.

4.—(1) There shall, by virtue of this section, be established on the establishment date a board to be styled and known as the Racing Board to fulfil the functions assigned to it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal (which shall be judicially noticed) and power to sue and be sued in its corporate name and to hold land.

5 Constitution of the Board.

5.—(1) The Board shall consist of eleven members.

(2) Each person appointed a member of the Board shall be a person who, in the opinion of the Minister, is representative of, or has functions in relation to, or is otherwise connected with, racing (including practical experience in the management of racecourses) or the ownership or breeding of bloodstock, or bookmaking, or other like pursuits.

6 Provisions in relation to appointment, terms of office, etc., of members of the Board.

6.—(1) In this section the word “Governor” means a person who is a member of one or other of the Governing Bodies.

(2) The Minister shall, before the establishment date, appoint eleven persons (of whom six shall be Governors) to be members of the Board and the term of office of every person so appointed shall commence on the establishment date, and if any such person dies before the establishment date he shall, for the purposes of subsection (5) of this section, be deemed to have died on the establishment date.

(3) The Minister shall, in each fifth successive year following the year in which the establishment date falls, appoint eleven persons (of whom six shall be Governors) to be members of the Board and the term of office of every person so appointed shall commence on the day next following the date of his appointment.

(4) Every member of the Board appointed under subsection (2) or subsection (3) of this section shall unless he sooner dies, or resigns, hold office until the expiration of the day on which the Minister next appoints, in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section, eleven persons to be members of the Board.

(5) Whenever a member of the Board dies or resigns, the Minister shall, as soon as conveniently may be, appoint another person (who shall, in case the person so dying or resigning was at the date of his appointment a Governor, be a Governor) to be a member of the Board, and the person so appointed shall, unless he sooner dies or resigns, hold office until the expiration of the day on which the Minister next appoints, in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section, eleven persons to be members of the Board.

(6) A member of the Board whose term of office expires by effluxion of time shall be eligible for reappointment.

(7) A member of the Board may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the Minister and such resignation shall take effect as on and from the date of the receipt of such letter by the Minister.

(8) Where a member of the Board, who at the date of his appointment was a Governor, ceases to be a Governor, he shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to have resigned his office as a member of the Board with effect as on and from the date of such cesser or, if he was appointed under subsection (2) of this section and such cesser occurs before the establishment date, the establishment date.

(9) The Minister shall consult the Minister for Agriculture before exercising the powers conferred on him by this section.

(10) The Board may, if it thinks fit, reimburse members for any actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with the business of the Board.

7 Meetings of the Board.

7.—(1) The Board shall hold its first meeting on, or as soon as conveniently may be after, the establishment date.

(2) The Board shall, in every year commencing after the holding of the first meeting, hold a meeting (in this Act referred to as the annual meeting) on such date as the Board may appoint.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due execution of its duties.

8 Chairman of the Board.

8.—(1) The Board shall, at its first meeting and also at every annual meeting, elect one of its members to be chairman of the Board.

(2) Every person elected to be chairman of the Board shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office as chairman until the next annual meeting of the Board following his said election, but shall be eligible for re-election.

(3) Whenever the office of chairman becomes vacant through the death, resignation or disqualification of the chairman, the Board shall, at the next meeting after such vacancy, elect one of its members to be chairman, and the member so elected shall, unless he sooner dies, resigns or becomes disqualified, hold office as chairman until the next annual meeting of the Board.

(4) The chairman of the Board may at any time resign his office as chairman by letter addressed to the Board and every such resignation shall take effect at the commencement of the meeting of the Board held next after the receipt of such letter by the Board.

(5) Whenever the chairman of the Board ceases during his term of office as chairman to be a member of the Board he shall be disqualified from being and shall forthwith cease to be such chairman.

(6) Whenever at the election of chairman of the Board, there is an equality of votes for two or more persons, one of those persons shall be elected by lot.

9 Procedure at meetings of the Board.

9.—(1) At a meeting of the Board—

(a) the chairman of the Board shall, if present, be chairman of the meeting;

(b) if and so long as the chairman of the Board is not present or if the office of chairman is vacant, the members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting.

(2) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting on the question, and, in case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote, save where the question is the election of the chairman of the Board.

(3) The Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies amongst its members.

(4) The quorum for the first meeting of the Board shall be seven, and the quorum for each subsequent meeting of the Board shall be such number (not less than five) as the Board may from time to time fix or, if no quorum is for the time being so fixed, five.

(5) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate, by standing orders or otherwise, the procedure and business of the Board.

10 Committees of the Board.

10.—(1) The Board may from time to time appoint such and so many committees as it thinks proper.

(2) The Board may delegate to a committee of the Board any of its functions, powers and duties which, in its opinion, can be better or more conveniently exercised or performed by a committee, and may regulate the procedure of any such committee.

(3) A committee of the Board shall consist of such number of members as the Board thinks proper and may, at the discretion of the Board, consist exclusively of persons who are members of the Board or partly of persons who are members of the Board and partly of persons who are officers of the Board.

(4) The acts of a committee of the Board shall be subject to confirmation by the Board save where the Board dispenses with the necessity for such confirmation.

11 Seal of the Board.

11.—(1) The Board shall as soon as may be after its establishment provide itself with a seal.

(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairman of the Board or some other member thereof authorised by the Board to act in that behalf and the signature of an officer of the Board authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

12 Officers and servants of the Board.

12.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Board may appoint such and so many officers and servants as it shall from time to time think proper.

(2) During the period of five years commencing on the establishment date, the appointment of any person to the post of chief officer of the Board shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister.

(3) There shall be paid by the Board to its officers and servants such remuneration and allowances as the Board shall determine.

13 Offices of the Board.

13.—(1) For the purpose of providing offices and premises necessary for the due performance of its functions, the Board may—

(a) purchase or take on lease any land,

(b) build, equip and maintain offices and premises.

(2) The Board may sell or lease any offices or premises held by it which are no longer required for the due performance of its functions.

14 Power of the Board to establish racecourses.

14.—(1) The Board may, with the consent of the Governing Bodies, and after giving notice to the executive of any existing authorised racecourse which in the opinion of the Board may be affected, establish, equip and maintain racecourses, and for this purpose may acquire by agreement or lease any land (including any racecourse).

(2) The Board may, with the consent of the Governing Bodies, organise and hold race meetings at any racecourse maintained by it under this section.

(3) The Board may, with the consent of the Governing Bodies, lease any racecourse established under this section.

(4) The Board may sell or lease any land acquired by it under this section which is no longer required for the purposes for which it was acquired.

15 Capacity of the Board to hold a totalisator licence.

15.—The Board may apply for and hold a totalisator licence.

16 Application of funds of the Board.

16.—(1) The Board may apply its funds for all or any of the following purposes, that is to say:—

(a) the payment of expenses incurred by it in the exercise and performance of its powers and duties under this Act,

(b) the payment of any moneys in accordance with the terms of any totalisator licence held by it,

(c) the making of payments, grants or loans for all or any one or more of the following purposes—

(i) the increase of stake-money and prizes at horse races held at authorised racecourses,

(ii) the reduction of entrance fees and similar charges in respect of such horse races,

(iii) the carriage of horses competing at such race meetings,

(iv) the reduction of the charges to the public for admission to authorised racecourses,

(v) the improvement of authorised racecourses and the amenities thereof,

(vi) any other purpose, approved by the Minister, conducive to the improvement of horse-racing,

(vii) any purposes, approved by the Minister, conducive to the improvement of the breeding of horses or to the development of the export trade in horses.

(2) The Board may attach to any grant or loan made or proposed to be made by it under this section such conditions as the Board thinks proper.

17 Power of Board to borrow.

17.—The Board may borrow such sums as it may require for the purpose of its powers and its duties, but the total amount due at any time in respect of such loans shall not, without the consent of the Minister, exceed twenty thousand pounds.

18 Investment of funds of the Board.

18.—The Board may invest moneys in its hands from time to time in any manner in which moneys of the Post Office Savings Bank are authorised by law to be invested.

19 Accounts and reports of the Board.

19.—(1) The Board shall keep proper and usual accounts of all moneys received or expended by it.

(2) The Board shall, within ninety days after the end of each accounting period or such longer time as the Minister shall in any particular case allow, furnish to the Minister—

(a) the accounts of the Board for that accounting period, which accounts shall be in such form (if any) as the Minister may direct and shall be audited by a duly qualified auditor appointed by the Board, and

(b) a report of its proceedings during that accounting period.

(3) The Minister shall lay copies of the accounts and report of the Board for an accounting period before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they have been received by him.

(4) The Board shall furnish to the Minister such information with regard to the exercise of its powers and duties as the Minister may from time to time require.

20 Evidence of regulations and of consent of Minister to regulations.

20.—In all legal proceedings—

(a) the production of a document purporting to be a copy of any regulation made by the Board under this Act and to be certified to be a true copy by the chairman of the Board or the chief officer of the Board shall be sufficient evidence of the regulation and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person certifying the document;

(b) the production of a document purporting to be signed by an officer of the Minister and certifying that any specified regulation made by the Board under this Act was made with the consent of the Minister shall be sufficient evidence that the regulation was made with the consent of the Minister and no proof shall be required of the handwriting or official position of the person signing the document.

PART III. Provisions Applicable to Bookmakers.

Chapter I. Preliminary and General.

21 Commencement of Chapters II and III of Part III.

21.—The provisions contained in Chapters II and III of this Part of this Act shall come into operation on such day as may be fixed for that purpose by order of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular provision, and different days may be fixed for different provisions of the said Chapters.

22 Prosecution of offences under Part III.

22.—An offence under any section contained in this Part of this Act may be prosecuted by the Board.

Chapter II. Restrictions on bookmakers carrying on business at authorised racecourses or in the precincts thereof, and charges for admission of bookmakers to authorised racecourses.

23 Prohibition of course betting by bookmakers not holding permits from the Board.

23.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any person to carry on the business of a bookmaker at any authorised racecourse or in the precincts thereof, unless such person is the holder of a course-betting permit.

(2) If any person acts in contravention of this section, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(3) Where a person who is not the holder of a course-betting permit is found carrying on the business of a bookmaker at any authorised racecourse, any person acting under the direction of the Board or the executive of that authorised racecourse may remove such first-mentioned person therefrom and for this purpose may use such force as may be reasonably necessary.

24 Course-betting permits.

24.—(1) The Board may, if in its absolute discretion it so thinks fit, grant to any licensed bookmaker a permit authorising him to carry on the business of a bookmaker at authorised racecourses or in the precincts thereof.

(2) The Board, in its absolute discretion, may, at any time, suspend for such time as it thinks fit or revoke a course-betting permit.

(3) Whenever the Board, in the exercise of its powers under this section, refuses to grant a course-betting permit to a licensed bookmaker or suspends or revokes a course-betting permit held by a licensed bookmaker, the following provisions shall have effect—

(a) the Board shall inform the licensed bookmaker in writing of such refusal, suspension or revocation,

(b) the licensed bookmaker may, within seven days after being so informed, request the Board to afford him an opportunity of making to the Board, in relation to such refusal, suspension or revocation, representations, oral or written, and the Board shall grant any such request.