Imagine what the tent talk was like ...
With his distinctly Inchicore drone, Brian Kerr would be at the bar to kick off the conversation with tales of two lost world cups.
First his dashed desire to manage South Africa for its home World Cup then his big lament on how he was just two games from taking Ireland to Germany.
On both counts he was denied a nice little earner but it is doubtful that he mentioned money matters when he was standing in a group with property developer Michael Bailey.
It is only four months since Michael and his brother Tom settled a tax bill of e22 million but he still found it in his heart to string together a few coppers to contribute to Fianna Fáil’s flagship fundraiser.
There would be some sympathy from Denis O’Brien who put his fight with the Mahon Tribunal ahead of a big day out in Ballybrit.
If all this turned the tone a bit melancholic, ears could prick for Sean Mulryan with a stock of fascinating stories from the east.
The Ballymore Properties’ boss could boast about his football club in the north-east of England.
If owning race horses used to be the measure of the Irish elite, his involvement in the buyout of Sunderland proves that football clubs are the new status symbol.
Then the spotlight would have turned to An Taoiseach for him to pause and reflect on his tumultuous 11th year leading the country.
And rather than burst the bubble, Bertie fled from the tent to mingle with the masses, elbowing his way through the grandstand to watch the feature race.
He said: “I had a winner in the last race, Moratorium, which I got at a nice price of eight-to-one.”
His next bet, Ansar, fell short so he sought sanctuary in a public chat with Sports Minister John O’Donoghue outside the Guinness bar.
And with all this talk of money the former darling of the tent, EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, was steering well clear of this year’s antics and concentrating on a more relaxing way of lining his pocket.
He said: “I have been out around the parade ring all day. Galway is a hard track to make money on, so I made a bit of a profit and I’ll leave it at that.”
