From left: Finlay Dargan, Simon Hillary and Pierce Dargan. Image: Equine MediRecord
On a mission to help trainers to take better care of their horses, Equine MediRecord is now galloping further into international markets.
Equine MediRecord, a digital platform for horse breeders and trainers, has raised more than €10m in funding from a US private equity firm to expand globally.
Founded in 2016 by Pierce Dargan, Simon Hillary and Finlay Dargan, Equine MediRecord has developed an equine welfare and anti-doping platform that allows breeders and trainers to safely manage medication for horses.
The investment came from Chicago-based Merit Holdings through its Inova Group. The group previously acquired Business Infusions, one of the world’s largest equine veterinary software groups.
Equine MediRecord will now become part of Business Infusions, which is the owner of several equine technology products including Hospital Veterinary Management System, Cassadol Equine and Signature Veterinary Practice Management Software.
“It’s great to be supported by Inova Group and Business Infusions and that they believe in our goal to promote equine welfare and anti-doping best practices by driving adoption of our Equine MediRecord platform,” said CEO Pierce Dargan.
He said the funding will now be used to bring the Equine MediRecord platform to more horse farms and equine events across Europe, North America, the Middle East and beyond to ensure best practices in equine welfare.
Headquartered in The Curragh in Co Kildare, the start-up was a winner of the Tangent student accelerator LaunchBox at Trinity College Dublin in 2017.
Supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Kildare Local Enterprise Office, it went on to bag major international clients over the years, such as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, The Saudi Cup and the American Classic Preakness Stakes.
As well as increasing its footprint in other countries, Equine MediRecord also plans to use the latest funding to expand its growth and operations team.
“Equine MediRecord is a compelling network-based platform that is helping to transform and digitise the equine industry with a clear and quantifiable value proposition for trainers, events, associations, vets and the broader equine community,” said Merit Holdings CEO John Burke.
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