Equine fans saddle up for city’s first horse-racing event in a century

Horse-racing is returning to Cork City after almost a century.

The meeting, organised by Muskerry Hunt Club, takes place on Saturday, Nov 2, at the Munster Agricultural Society’s new showgrounds at Curraheen, Bishopstown. Adjoining property, owned by UCC, will also be used, with the first race getting the off at 12pm at the new track.

Robert Harkin, Muskerry Hunt Club, said: “Preparations are well under way and we are looking forward to what will be a great family day out, offering the city the thrills and spills of horse racing for the first time in 100 years.”

Horse-racing was held in Cork for many decades at The Marina — named in 1872 after a newly opened promenade in Palermo, Sicily, of the same name — before Henry Ford founded a tractor factory on the site in 1919.

The Munster Agricultural Society has early links with racing, as, in 1891, Cork Corporation leased it 27 acres at The Marina racecourse to be used as its original Cork Showgrounds.

Muskerry Hunt Club, which was founded in 1742, is donating proceeds from next Saturday’s meeting to Cork Cancer Research.

Despite the wish to raise as much money for the charity as possible, the club is offering special deals to ease the expense to families.

Therefore, a family ticket at €15 does the obvious in terms of entry, but also buys two race programmes and free access to the kids’ entertainment area, while a “car deal” at €24 allows parking, plus entry for up to four adults and a race programme for each. The No 8 bus also serves the race meeting.

* Tickets are available to buy online at www.tickets.ie