In the Champagne Bar, bottles were flying out faster than the helicopters across in the far field. They arrived in black plastic ice-buckets resembling upturned top hats but with none of the style. And yet there was something touching about those men who returned from the bar, a bucket cradled in the crook of each arm, carefully carrying a new set of quads to the women at their table.
If you wanted to be anybody in that Champagne Bar at Galway Races yesterday, you had to have at least four bottles of bubbly in your brace of buckets.
Welcome to VulgarVille.
Take a helicopter across to Ballybrit racecourse from the hotel across the road - if you can stand the queue. A snip at just €350 return. Up and down in five minutes but apparently it's the only way to travel. That's what people keep saying here, as if 350 lids is nothing compared to saving an hour in a traffic jam.
Of course, once your helicopter lands in the field behind the stand, there's the rather undignified trek that has to be made up past the hawkers and three-card-trick merchants.
Unfortunately, you blend in with the Great Unwashed flooding with you towards the turnstiles. Who's to know you just arrived in a helicopter a few minutes earlier? Most unfair.
There should be special badges for people who arrive by air because there's only so much shouting a body can do to get the message across.
Of course, if you are a multi- millionaire telecommunications superstar like Denis O'Brien, you don't have to walk with the little people. A motorised buggy is laid on to convey you to the track.
Yesterday he pitched up at the main gates with PJ Mara perched on the seat behind, the pair of them like octogenarian golfers at Augusta determined to finish the old course despite their dodgy hips.
"I'm at the zillionaire's table," PJ said shamelessly in the Fianna Fáil "Tint". Speaking of shameless, Denis O'Brien wore a pink gingham shirt. You can do that sort of thing when you're stinking rich.
Nearly 30,000 punters paid through the turnstiles yesterday, a paltry 800 increase on last year's attendance. The popularity of the Galway Races is astounding. Witness the forlorn- looking ticket tout outside the track, urgently calling, "Anyone selling tickets?" The buying bit didn't come into it.
Officially, 520 guests paid into the famous Fianna Fáil Tint and it looked that amount again had piled in to see what all the fuss is about. Bertie Ahern was guest of honour, doing his usual walkabout in the crowd and then discreetly pressing the flesh back in the "tint".
One minute, he was deep in conversation with a princess from Bahrain.
Next he was shooting the breeze with a local grandee and after that, he had intense discussions with Kieren Fallon, the controversial champion jockey who has been banned from riding in England pending an investigation into alleged race-fixing.
Innocent until proven guilty is very much the attitude in Galway where Kieren is concerned - everywhere he went yesterday, the charismatic jockey was applauded. We thought Bertie was going to kiss him as he got up to leave his table.
No sign of the Taoiseach lashing over to Mick Bailey's table to give him a kiss, although builder Bailey has been a loyal supporter of Fianna Fáil over the years, particularly at Galway Races.
The larger-than-life Bovale boss enjoyed his afternoon in the company of Kerry footballing great Páidí Ó Sé.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan was spotted in the vicinity of the Tint, as was golfer Christy O'Connor jnr, publican Charlie Chawke, builder Seán Mulryan and MEP Marian Harkin.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen managed a sneaky cigarette outside the Tint as TD GV Wright and MEP Eoin Ryan stood close to provide some camouflage.
His predecessor, commissioner Charlie McCreevy, stalked the parade ring after the big race, before departing in the company of Ted Walsh and JP McManus.
JP had a roller coaster day. In the second race, his horse Sporting Limerick was a faller, ending jockey Tony McCoy's Galway campaign.
Rory's Sister went on to win, leading to countless men declaring proudly, "I had Rory's Sister," and nobody taking offence.
Things got better for JP in the next race, when Moratorium did the business, and then Far From Trouble made his week by landing the William Hill Galway Plate.
"I'm on top of the world," said JP, as journalists pressed him on Limerick's poor showing in the hurling championship. "Sure the hurling is the hurling and the racing is the racing," he declared. There's no arguing with that.
Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue presented him with the Galway Plate.
"It's the key race to win for me," said JP, who knows a thing or two about winning horse races. As for the Minister, he had backed the winner. "What politician wouldn't back Far from Trouble?" he pointed out, adding that he placed his bet with JP's brother, who happens to be a bookie.
Out of devilment, Bertie put a few bob on More Rainbows. He was delighted when he lost his money.