It appears it will be Monday at the earliest before a decision about a date for the resumption of racing will be made.

Yesterday's meeting between the Minister for Agriculture's expert advisory group and racing's ruling bodies proved inconclusive, with the group, led by Professor Michael Monaghan, declaring they need the weekend to come to a decision.

The one-hour meeting at the Department finished at 11.30 a.m., and the Turf Club chief executive, Brian Kavanagh, described it as "a very fair hearing".

"We made our presentation and the group went through it in detail, but said they will need the weekend to consider our proposals.

"Our two points were the economic consequences of not resuming racing in the near future, but we concentrated on presenting the precautions that will be put in place to minimise the risk of transmitting the foot-and-mouth disease."

The Irish Horseracing Authority's (IHA) original hope to resume the sport on April 14th has not been ruled out, but it is looking less likely with the Government continuing to stress its guideline of 30 days after the final outbreak in relation to high-risk sports.

"They are an expert group who advise the Minister, and rather than concentrate on dates, we hope we can satisfy them on our levels of precaution to prevent the spread of the disease," Kavanagh said.

But one man very much concerned with a date for a possible return to racing is the Fairyhouse manager, Dick Sheil, who yesterday described the prospects for the Irish Grand National festival going ahead on Easter Sunday as being "in overtime".

Even if the National fixture can go ahead, some of the usual Fairyhouse amenities, such as the catering facilities and some marquees, will not be in place, although it's stressed that the track itself is in top condition.

"As for staging the actual racing we only need a week to get ready, but from the point of view of staging an event we need a month and that means we are now well into a critical period," Sheil said. "All we can do now is look to put everything on hold until the last minute. We really are now in overtime." An IHA spokesperson stressed the two-pronged proposal made to Joe Walsh's expert group and confirmed: "The group wanted some time to consider the proposals over the weekend."

There has been no racing in Ireland since the Naas fixture on February 25th, and that has led the Turf Club's Irish Jockeys Trust to start making payments to jump jockeys.

Payments will be based on the number of rides a jockey had last year: a jockey who had 50 rides or fewer will get £50 a week, while those who had 280 or over will get £275 a week.

The first payments will cover the four-week period to today. If the foot-and-mouth restrictions continue to the end of April, the trustees will review the position in relation to flat jockeys.