Economy on course as punters splash cash

The good old days might not be quite back, but if the Galway Races is anything to go by, we might not have long to wait.

Ballybrit may have lost the infamous Fianna Fáil tent, the huge corporate village, and VIP tents but, with spending and attendances up significantly this year, it looks like people are finally getting back to spending a little of their cash.

For the first five days of the festival, attendances were well up on that of 2013. For Ladies Day, traditionally the biggest betting day of the week, just over 34,000 people came through the turnstiles — up from 27,669 on last year.