My Passion with Colin Stirling: The days at the races that have turned into a business venture

I SUPPOSE it is not unusual for an Irishman to have an interest in "the horses"; therefore my passion is a widely shared one.

However, as the years have gone by and I have had a bit more time and a few more pennies to commit to it, horse racing has become something which I have become increasingly seriously involved with, ultimately developing a social interest into a business venture.

Like many others, my early memories of racing are linked to the annual family sweepstake on the Grand National and watching that and other big race occasions on TV.

It's from this that I caught the bug. Initially, I became a regular racegoer and then eventually I bought a couple of horses which went into training with Peter Beaumont at Brandsby in North Yorkshire.

Exposure to Peter's yard, which was steeped in the successful history of the legendary Gold Cup winner, Jodami, and countless other big race triumphs, really cemented my progression from "interest" to "passion".

This journey reached its natural conclusion when, following Peter's retirement earlier this year, I set up Foulrice Park Racing with Peter's former assistant, Patrick Holmes, and took out a lease on the yard.

The underpinning ethos of Foulrice Park is to provide a personal and bespoke service to our owners, recognising that each will have different motivations for being involved in the sport and a different investment appetite.

Some will dream of Cheltenham, Ascot and York while others will be happy having fun around the Northern circuit. We aim to cater for both and, in a small mixed yard of around 30 horses, to create a club atmosphere with a like-minded group of owners who share our love of racing.

Hopefully, the combination of someone who has come from an owning background with someone who has trained horses for 30 years will enable us to deliver a quality service.

I feel strongly about the importance of a sustainable racing industry to rural communities in the British Isles, not just in terms of sporting tradition but also as a major employer, and I believe it is seriously undervalued on a number of fronts.

I get very irritated by the betting industry which relies heavily on racing but does everything it can to avoid making an equitable re-investment into the sport.

I also believe that we in Yorkshire fail to recognise the excellent contribution which racing makes locally. In York, we have the officially recognised best racecourse in the country (why is its chief executive William Derby not in the running for every local chief executive of the year award?), Doncaster hosts the oldest classic in the St Leger, and we have a number of other excellent courses.