Tracy Piggott 'devastated' as RTE Racing don't renew her contract

The presenter revealed she was told that after 30 years, she will not be used for racing coverage in 2020

Racing presenter Tracy Piggott says she is devastated after learning that RTÉ have decided not to renew her annual contract.

The presenter revealed she was told this week that after 30 years, she will not be used for the station's racing coverage in 2020, RSVP Live reports.

She said: "From what I can gather, I am no longer part of the RTÉ team anymore,"

"I was told that they were not renewing my contract, that they were looking to bring in fresh faces, which is fine - but I wasn't expecting it."

She told the Irish Independent: "If I had a bit more warning, I could have been able to make other plans. I'm a single parent with a daughter due to start secondary school this September."

Tracy first started covering RTÉ's racing coverage 1989 - along with Robert Hall, who will also present his final programme on Sunday from Leopardstown.

She admitted she first learned it could become a possibility at the end of 2019, but only learned the official news yesterday.

"It was something that I was led to believe towards the end of last year could be on the cards.

"But I was hoping we could come up with a solution. I have so enjoyed the time that I've had with RTÉ and obviously it was something that I wanted to continue doing," she said.

She went on: "But I'm no longer with them, which is devastating. I feel very emotional about it. It's been such a huge part of my life."

"While I was with RTÉ, I wasn't able to take other work so I just would have liked a bit more lead-in time to make plans and set up another source of income."

RTE declined to comment when contacted by the Irish Daily Mirror.