TELEVISION COVERAGE: Horse Racing Ireland are involved in talks with the two British-based television groups over future coverage of racing in this country. Televised pictures is a cornerstone of HRI's current five-year plan but the current uncertainty about coverage in Britain has yet again resulted in no pictures of the local sport being available to Irish viewers.

After the demise of the old racing channel last year, HRI briefly examined the possibility of setting up their own channel before eventually deciding to go with a British-based satellite outlet that would provide extensive coverage of the sport here.

Pictures were originally planned to be available earlier this year but delays and the collapse of the Attheraces deal in Britain have resulted in no pictures. However, HRI are now talking to both the New Attheraces channel and The Horse Racing Channel, the proposed services that have been competing for the TV rights to racecourses in Britain.

The HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh confirmed: "Both parties involved have made approaches to us and we have had discussions with them over various details." He added: "Our primary concern is the level and volume of the coverage here.

"The last time we were involved in talks with attheraces they wanted to cherry pick certain races from Ireland. But I don't want to pre-empt anything." The Horse Racing Channel is expected to be connected to the Setanta base and should be available from next month on a free to view basis initially. It's competition, a subscription service, is expected to be on the Sky Digital channel 415.

In other news the Association of Irish Racecourses yesterday declared they will not pay any extra money to the valet staff for Saturday evening racing.

At Kilbeggan last weekend, the valets refused to work unless they received €130 extra and the money was eventually provided by a local sponsor.

The next Saturday evening fixtures are on May 29th and the valets have already claimed they feel that racecourses should pay up the extra money for working Saturday nights.

However the AIR have formally lodged a complaint to the Turf Club over the valet's behaviour and chief executive Paddy Walsh said yesterday they will not be paying any extra money to the valets.

"We have no direct relationship with the valets. They provide a service to the jockeys in return for a direct fee and a percentage of prize-money. I don't think it is appropriate for us to be involved in their payment arrangments," he said.

"Whether or not the jockeys have a case for an extra fee is a case they have to make to their employers and if the valets feel they are entitled to an additional fee they should go to their employers."