Record prizemoney is up for grabs at the Galway festival

PRIZEMONEY at the upcoming Galway Summer Racing Festival is about to crash through the €2m barrier for the first time ever, with a minimun feature race value of €100,000 on each day at Ballybrit.

The overall prizefund has been increased by €123,000 from last year’s festival with the €300,000 Guinness Galway Hurdle on Thursday of race week maintaining its status as the second richest National Hunt race on the calendar after the Irish Grand National.

The other big highlight of the country’s most popular racing festival, the tote.com Galway Plate, sees a €30,000 increase in value to €250,000, with Tuesday evening’s feature, the Colm Quinn Mile Handicap now worth €120,000.

Details of the 148th staging of the Galway Races were unveiled at Monday’s launch in the Marker Hotel in Dublin which attracted sponsors, top trainer Noel Meade, members of the Galway Race Committee, racecourse staff, Denis Egan, Chief Executive of the Turf Club, Tim Higgins, Chief Executive of Tote Ireland, and Paddy Walsh, Chief Executive of the Irish Association of Racecourses.

Reacting to the record prizemoney on offer at this year’s festival, Michael Moloney, General Manager of Galway Racecourse, said: It’s a huge credit to our sponsors and Horse Racing Ireland who with their support have enabled us to offer for the very first time a feature race every day valued at a minimun of €100,000.

“It is also particularly pleasing to see the minimun value of every race during the festival set at €15,000. We have an exciting programme on the cards for 2017 and we look forward to offering some great racing and entertainment in Galway during our week-long meeting.”

With fifty-two races over the seven days and the huge prizemoney up for grabs, it’s no surprise that Ireland’s leading owners, trainers and jockeys will all travel West in the hope of festival glory, together with a number of cross-channel raiders.

On the first evening of the festival, Monday, July  31, there will be a special opening ceremony themed ‘Gather Your Tribe’. Racegoers will be greeted by tribal drummers at the two main entrances. Patrons can then make their way to the parade ring before the horses arrive for the first race to witness a special performance by the Galway Tenors.

First race on Monday is at 5.20pm with a host of local businesses continuing their association with the festival. Sponsors on the day include The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Galway Bay Hotel, Claregalway Hotel, Clayton Hotel Galway, Easyfix, McGettigan’s and Eventus, while The Connacht Hotel once again sponsor the feature race of the evening, the €100,000 Qualified Riders Handicap.

Situated beside the Killanin Stand, the new Festival Village will also enhance the racegoers’ experience at Ballybrit. Patrons will enjoy craft beer, a shopping village, big screen to watch the racing, betting facilities and live music all week with resident DJ’s and local bands.

Colm Quinn, BMW Athlone and Galway, are on board again for the second year running as title sponsor on Tuesday evening with the first race also off at 5.20pm. This sponsorship covers three valuable races across a top-class card, culminating in the day’s feature, The Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.