More than €1m was placed in bets as the rain held off to give festival-goers a thrilling first day at the races in Leopardstown.

Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Don Cossack is set to be one of the stars on show at the annual post-racing gallops at Leopardstown tomorrow.

Leopardstown has annnounced it is to invest €12m in the next phase of the revelopment of its facilicites.

In this week’s Q & A Kehlan talks with Pat Keogh from Arema Connect. Arema Connect started out as a call centre, but now involves itself in many other aspects of business for its clients. Pat explains the success and evolution of the business.

A host of big names have been entered for the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 12.

Pique Sous has been ruled out of the Ascot Gold Cup due to a setback.

Vautour, Clarcam and Valseur Lido all appear among a classy entry of 10 for the Leopardstown Killiney Novice Chase on Sunday.

Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh believes Irish Champions Weekend is an ideal chance to put racing in Ireland in the spotlight.

Willie Mullins has unveiled a powerful team for the marquee races at this year’s Leopardstown Christmas Festival.

The going at Leopardstown has been changed to good to firm after officials finished watering the track yesterday ahead of Saturday’s high-profile fixture .

Leopardstown CEO Pat Keogh has hailed as a resounding success the decision to switch this year’s Hennessy Gold Cup card from its usual Sunday slot to a Saturday.

Aidan O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas winner Camelot features among a rich collection of 50 entries in the Red Mills Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 8.

LEADING trainer Dessie Hughes has hailed the “sensible” decision of the Government to limit the reduction of the horse and greyhound racing fund to 1.7%.

Denman appeared among 17 contenders for the Lexus Chase as the entries for the major races at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival were published.

CALL Management has been awarded a contract from British group Cho Yung, a company that sells weight-loss tea products from China over the internet.

Forty-five jobs have been lost with the closure of a BMW car dealership in Limerick.

PAUL NICHOLLS has made no secret of his desire to be champion trainer in Ireland this season and his second shot of the campaign hit the bullseye at Limerick yesterday when Dear Villez landed the ladbrokes.com Munster National.

Marks & Spencer could be moving to more than one location in Limerick in two years time.

THE €724 million Irish seafood industry is being represented by a record 27 companies at a three-day exhibition which opened in Brussels yesterday.

IRISH people still clinging the old faith probably ate fish on Good Friday, even if some of the traditionalists might have been reluctant enough about it.

THE €183 million retail market for seafood in Ireland is growing, according to the latest figures.

MARKETS for Irish seafood were buoyant last year but exports were substantially down, according to Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s (BIM) annual review.

PIONEERING technologies and skills in production, processing and marketing has lifted the Irish rope mussel industry from zero over the past two decades to a position where it now has an estimated final sales value of €20 million, it was revealed in a report published yesterday.

LIMERICK filling station manager Pete McDonagh yesterday pulled the plug on the country’s dearest petrol outlet.

THE poets of the land have been challenged to look at an oyster and produce pearls of inspiring words.

THIRTEEN-MAN Drom-Broadford and St Senan’s booked their places in the Limerick SFC semi-finals with victories over Mungret and Fr Casey’s at the weekend.

BUOYANT markets enabled the Irish seafood industry to achieve a small increase in domestic and export sales in 2002.

Posting fastest times on the first and third runs, Ardfinnan’s Jimmy Lambert (Ford Escort) and his