Last bit of business as Galway Races draw to a weary close

WITH politicians bolting for beaches and the peacock hats flying home yesterday evening, it was time to get down to business at the Galway Races.

Traditionally a night for the real gamblers to reign in losses, the know-all players took a brave last shot at taking a healthy summer bonus from Ballybrit 2006.

Turnover in the betting ring was already up €2 million on last year before yet another bumper crowd turned up to renew hostilities with the bookies.

A lot of it also has to do with the lack of distractions and the ease with which punters could manoeuvre themselves by comparison to Thursday’s high-heel infested mosh-pit.

And if half the record Friday night attendance of 31,547 people arrived to balance the books, the rest had it all to do just to balance themselves.

Galway was one big hangover, every face evoked a hazy memory of that guy who became your singing partner and new best friend by the quays after sunrise.

At the same time, the ladies that rivalled Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring when last they saw daylight hobbled across the Corrib River sporting mutilated mascara and looking like the inspiration for Edvard Munch’s Scream.

No one could point fingers, the entire city was in the same staggering state. After all, the party was the real reason why the turnstiles clicked more than 48,000 times on Thursday.

Sure there was little point in resting and let’s not forget that the calendar kings had structured the August Bank Holiday Monday especially for Galway race-goers to recover.

The festival at Ballybrit will continue today and tomorrow with a fresh weekend crowd arriving to kick some life into those reeling from all the weekday excesses.

By Monday there will be little left to do but clean up and shuffle to the bank machine to wince at a beleaguered balance.

Meanwhile, spare a thought for the city that has generously given itself over to arts festivals and the races for the country to revel in this summer. The tribes can now get back to normal and pull down the posters advertising “race week hours” that invariably had offices closing early and pubs flashing their lights until 2am.