‘The horse racing industry is vital to the national economy’

Edmond Mahony, chairman of Tattersalls and Tattersalls Ireland during the 2018 Derby Sale Picture: Lorraine O’Sullivan

Irishman Edmond Mahony was a busy man last week. As chairman of Tattersalls, the oldest bloodstock sales auction house in the world, Mahony presided over the Derby Sale of National Hunt racehorses in Fairyhouse on Wednesday and Thursday which saw sales hit €18 million, eclipsing the record achieved a year earlier.

Tattersalls has experienced a significant jump in sales in recent years. Turnover for Tattersalls Ireland went from €30 million in 2009 to ...