A major question mark hangs over the outcome of Saturday night's Irish greyhound Derby at Shelbourne Park. This follows a High Court challenge against an alleged unlawful change of rules by Bord na gCon during the preliminary qualifying stages of the competition.
Mr Justice Geoghegan yesterday granted two Northern Ireland greyhound-breeders leave to seek an injunction tomorrow restraining Bord na gCon from declaring a result of the derby or presenting the trophy or prize-money until further order of the court.
Mr Peter Nolan, counsel for Mr Patrick Owens, of Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Mr Leslie Richie, Ballymena, Co Antrim, told the court the dispute centred on a decision of the Irish greyhound authority to change rules governing the replacement of non-runners during the qualifying stages.
Mr Nolan said his clients claimed that specific procedures which applied to an entry of 96 dogs in the first round were unlawfully changed before the running of the second round of 48 qualifiers.
He said these new rules, without proper and lawful notice to dogowners, had also been applied to the quarter-final and semi-final stages. The problem was of Bord na gCon's own making in that it had changed the rules part-way through the competition.
Mr Justice Geoghegan said the courts were reluctant to make any order, unless where absolutely necessary, in a case of a row within a sporting organisation.
However, he told Mr Nolan he had made an arguable case of statutory requirements not having been complied with.
He said he would not allow the applicants leave to seek a mandatory order stopping the race. He would only allow them issue short notice of service to seek an injunction tomorrow restraining Bord na gCon from declaring an outcome of the race until further order.