Punters down but not out at Ballybrit

It takes more than an opening-day pasting by the bookies to keep punters away from Galway, as Tuesday brought big numbers and big spending to Ballybrit.

With numbers up and spending on the rise, there is an increasing sense of optimism that the good old days are returning to the Galway Races. It might not have size of old, with corporate VIP tents as far as the eye can see, but nobody racing in Galway seems to care about bumping into politicians or celebrities.

Almost 19,000 people thronged Ballybrit on the opening day spending nearly €2m between the Tote and bookmakers.