All bets on as the Galway Races gallops into gear

OUT of the bland box of suburbia where I am quartered in Galway I sped with glee towards the bucks fizz sparkle of Ballybrit.

Nor was I disappointed. Day one at the races held plenty of western promise. Muggy, but sunny, the gloom of the weekend had lifted and humours were warmer all round.

Racetrack officials beamed at a boost in numbers about 30,000, definitely up on Monday last year and politicians were happy to be anywhere but the Dáil.