With Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) recently publishing figures for the first half of 2014, the number of active owners in Irish racing is a serious concern and reflects the general trend across Europe. 

The horseracing industry is battling for its life, and the key point of contention is medication—not just a push for uniform medication rules, but a movement to eliminate all race-day drugs. Two years after the Breeders' Cup banned anti-bleeding medication for its juvenile races, Gulfstream Park in Florida has announced its intention to offer Lasix-free races for 2015, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is considering doing the same for its tracks. North America is the only region of the world that allows race-day medication. 

Everyone wants to see a good covering of grass on a racecourse but the watering of tracks is a highly contentious issue, even though it's essential for growth. With opinion split as to whether natural firm summer ground should prevail or artificial watering should be employed, the final word comes down to the Racecourse Manager, the Clerk of the Course and their highly skilled team of groundsmen.

Few horses were ever as animated and filled with a zest for life as the great racehorse and sire, Northern Dancer. Frank Mitchell looks at why this unfashionably bred thoroughbred went from being an unwanted yearling to one of the influential thoroughbreds of all time.

France have led the way in promoting one of their most successful breeds, the AQPS. With the National Hunt market becoming ever more competitive and commercial, isn't it time other countries also tried something new? 

The first racecourse located in Athens was established by William Reese, an Englishman coming from Smyrna, Turkey, following the Asia Minor catastrophe. This was a time when Greek expatriates, forced into displacement, moved to Greece – specifically, to a large extent, to Athens.