THE GALWAY Races drew to a close yesterday having defied the recession with over €20 million being gambled during the week.
The seven day festival remains the top meeting in Irish horseracing and while crowds were down about 15 per cent from last year’s record-breaking event, management at Ballybrit were thrilled with the ways things went this week.
More than 140,000 punters paid through the turnstiles during the week – an estimated further 25,000 attended the area in the centre of the course – with the bookies handling €14 million in bets and a further €6 million being gambled on the Tote.
Racecourse manager John Maloney knew that figures would be down on last year when 175,000 paid through the turnstiles, but he was pleased with this year’s festival, not least as the weather did no favours. “We’re delighted with the week, given all the circumstances and it’s a great credit to everyone who worked so hard. It has been a brilliant week,” said Mr Maloney.
The highlight came on Thursday when over 42,000 attended Ladies Day for the €250,000 Guinness Hurdle.
The races, worth an estimated €65 million to Galway city, concluded yesterday with the Mad Hatters competition, one of the events of the day off the track.
Eithne Staunton from Claremorris captured the top prize of a family holiday in Lanzarote with a hat which combined the Volvo Ocean Race – Galway’s other sporting triumph this summer – and the Galway Races.
But there was a poignant aspect to yesterday’s event when the “racing priest” Fr Seán Breen was remembered and honoured at a Mass he traditionally said in the parade ring at Ballybrit.
Fr Breen, parish priest of Ballymore Eustace, died in January and was remembered yesterday along with recently deceased Galway Race Committee members Ray Rooney and Colm Gavin at a Mass said by Msgr Malachy Hallinan and Fr Michael O’Reilly, parish priest of nearby Castlegar.
Fr Breen, or “The Breener” as he was affectionately known, even had a horse named after him and, along with two friends, had formed the successful Heavenly Syndicate. His memory was recalled late yesterday afternoon when the Galway Race Committee honoured him by naming the 51st and last race of the week in his honour – the Fr Breen Memorial Flat Race.