RACING: Horse Racing Ireland insisted yesterday that it will probably be the end of July before a decision is taken regarding the broadcasting future of Irish racing.

The HRI media rights committee will report to the board at that time regarding the options open to racing's ruling body.

At the moment there is no daily coverage of the sport on satellite TV as there was during the days of the Racing Channel which closed earlier in the year.

The attheraces channel this week concluded a deal with the French authorities to cover their big races, starting with Sunday's Classic card at Longchamp.

However, attheraces and HRI failed to come to a deal earlier this year and the options now open to HRI include the development of their own specialist channel. "The deal that attheraces have done in France is similar to the one they offered us in that they wanted to show the big races over here too. But that was rejected by our board," explained the HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh yesterday.

"We have a time frame to come to a decision and that still applies, the end of June to mid-July. But we have to decide the most effective way to do this.

"It's a fact that bookmaker turnover is up 10 per cent this year and the Tote and attendance figures are up by seven per cent.

"We are still seriously considering the options for television pictures because of promotion and horse sales but we have to try and be fair to everyone," he added.

Other options being considered by the HRI committee include the development of a magazine type programme on terrestrial television.

Empire Maker, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, will bypass the Preakness Stakes in favour of a crack at the Belmont Stakes, trainer Bobby Frankel has confirmed. "The owners didn't want to run. They'd rather wait for the Belmont, which is fine. There's no sense throwing him back in two weeks," siad Frankel.

With the Juddmonte Farms-owned three-year-old out of the Pimlico race on May 17th, Frankel could run either Derby third Peace Rules or stablemate Midas Eyes.

"I'll come to New York on Saturday night and after I check out the horses I'll decide whether to run Peace Rules or Midas Eyes in the Preakness," he said.

"They have the same owner, so I won't run them both. I'll see who is training better."