Punters betting on a good time as races take off
But the ambassador of Horse Racing Ireland, Hector Ó hEochagain, was giving tips on how to overcome another hurdle: surviving the week of the Galway Races.
And if yesterday’s crowd was anything to go by, plenty of champagne, Guinness from plastic glasses, a beef roll and chips from Lydon House catering and a few nice wins should be enough to get you through the week.
With temperatures soaring into the mid-20s on the race grounds lots of drinking water was required at the first day of racing yesterday. And who better to show concern for the welfare of punters than Paddy Power himself. The bookie had his team on standby handing out bottles of “no sh*t mineral water” to those boarding the special race-bound buses in Eyre Square in the city centre.
Referring to the cyrptosporidium outbreak that has left water in the city undrinkable in recent months, the bottles listed the typical mineral composition, with the added ingredient information of: “poo: zero” and “cryptosporidium free”. Paddy Power said a total of 30,000 bottles will be handed out during the week.
Yesterday evening’s seven-race meeting was attended by thousands of locals who traditionally keep the first evening to themselves before hoards of politicians, businessmen, footballers and other celebs arrive for the biggest event of the year in the City of the Tribes.
“It’s a great evening at the races, all my friends from Galway come here on the Monday and it’s just really warming things up for a great week,” said Hector, who was hosting the Big Bash in the Guinness and Oyster tent — a version of the Fianna Fáil tent for the “ordinary Joe soap”, which was also visited by Galway girl, Gráinne Seoige of RTÉ.
One local who celebrated his 50th year at the races was Michael Staunton, 69, from the coastal town of Kinvarra on the Galway/Clare border.
“The races used to be a real holiday back then but it was only on for two days. The most important thing was to get the hay finished, and then we could look forward to the races. We used to cycle 18 miles on the bike to get here,” he said.
Mr Staunton said he “loved” the new €20 million state-of-the-art Killanin Stand in the Ballybrit racecourse, which was opened by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last month and christened by a 7,000-strong roaring crowd in the first race yesterday evening.
“The races have changed an awful lot, but for the better I think. The only thing that’s not as good now is the winning. People don’t care as much about the winning now, but in our day if you won big on a race, it was like being a millionaire for the week. There isn’t the same excitement now,” said Staunton.
Visitors at today’s races will include Sunderland Football Club chairman Niall Quinn.
Race-goers might be disappointed to hear that his club’s manager, Roy Keane, and players will not be joining him as they prepare for a game against Galway United in Terryland Park on Wednesday night.
But punters won’t be short of a few famous faces to look at as a helicopter will land on the racecourse every 40 seconds today, carrying politicians, socialites and those with plenty of cash to splash.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
