Galway racing festival odds on to prove a winner again

BALLYBRIT is synonymous with big crowds and atmosphere, but the last two Galway Summer Racing Festivals – like sporting events all over the globe – were heavily impacted by Covid 19.

In 2020, the festival was a punter-free zone, while there was a daily attendance limit of only 1,000 people last year. The Galway Races survived, but not as we know them.

No wonder Anthony Ryan, chairman of the Galway Race Committee, described the last two summer festivals as a “lonely” experience in the context of what the annual highlight of Ireland’s summer racing calendar normally represents at Monday’s launch of this year’s week-long meeting in the Guinness Store House in Dublin.

With sporting crowds generally slow to reach pre-pandemic levels, Michael Moloney, chief executive of Galway Racecourse, and its committee members would be forgiven for wondering if the festival can return to its former glories so soon.

But the Galway Races’ brand remains strong, and it is arguably the sporting event in Ireland which attracts the most support outside of its core stakeholders. You don’t have to know anything about horses to attend Ballybrit.

For many, it’s more about the occasion, the holiday vibe, the opportunity to rekindle old friendships and, of course, the outside chance of making a few bob into the bargain.

But what of 2022? Will the crowds flock back? It’s not even up for debate, as pre-festival ticket sales are booming, while corporate hospitality is virtually sold out.

In less than six weeks’ time – from July 25 to 31 – Ballybrit will be heaving again with a marathon 53 race programme being staged over the seven days, offering a total prize fund of over €2.1m, a jump of nearly €350,00 on last year’s festival.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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