Galway gearing up for invasion of over 150,000 racegoers

IT’S the biggest racing festival of the year and over 150,000 punters are set to descend on Ballybrit for the week long Galway summer meeting which will run from Monday, July 29, to Sunday, August 4.

The official launch of the popular festival took place at the track’s newly refurbished Panoramic Restaurant and Corrib Bar on Tuesday when it was revealed that prizemoney for the seven-day meeting will be over €1.6m.

Galway will again host the richest race on the Irish National Hunt calendar when the €260,000 Guinness Galway Hurdle – won in a tight finish by the Michael Winters’ trained Rebel Fitz 12 months ago – is staged on ladies day, August 1.

“We are proud to announce that all 52 races over the festival will have a sponsor and the total prizefund will exceed €1.6million, which is quite an achievement in these challenging times. I would like to express a sincere thank you to all our sponsors for their valued support.

“We are also delighted to announce an upgrade to the racecourse facilities and this year our patrons will be greeted by a new entrance building to ensure comfort on arrival and they can enjoy amazing views from the newly refurbished Corrib Bar and Panoramic Restaurant” said newly elected Galway Races Chairman, Terry Cunningham.

Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins has revealed that his preparations for the festival are well underway. “We are looking forward to another great meeting and the prizemoney on offer is fantastic. I aim to have a couple of runners in both the Guinness Hurdle and the Galway Plate.

“Away We Go, which was second in The Irish National, is on course to run in the Plate. He likes good ground and this race has been the plan for him since Fairyhouse. Security Breach is progressing nicely and he won well recently at Gowran Park and we’ll aim him at the Galway Hurdle. We’ll finalise the remainder of our team a bit closer to the festival” said Mullins.

Europe’s longest running racing festival gets underway on Monday, July 29, with ‘Galway’s Best Hotels’ Race Day, where the feature race will be sponsored by the newly named Connacht Hotel. Other premier Galway hotels, including the Radisson Blu, Galway Bay Hotel, Claregalway Hotel, Clayton Hotel, Galway Oyster Hotel and the Pillo Hotel will once again come together to sponsor the opening day of racing.