Listowel festival cut to five days with no flat racing
As well it has been decided to cancel all the flat races scheduled for the meeting and the plan now is to stage a five-day National Hunt festival, rather than seven days, finishing on the Saturday.
The decision was made yesterday morning by the local committee, in conjunction with clerk of the course, Peter McGouran, and acting inspector of courses, Bill McLernon.
Well-known photographer, Pat Healy, is a member of the committee and also a director of Listowel.
Said Healy: “The ground would be extremely testing for flat horses anyway, but doing it this way gives us an extra track for hurdle racing.
“There is no way we would get through seven days. Granted any luck we might manage five days, maybe it will only be three!
“It has been a bad summer, but we intend to do the best we can and make the most of it. The track at the moment is probably just about raceable, but if you raced today then the likelihood is you wouldn’t race tomorrow.
“There is still a bit to go before next Tuesday and by making this decision early that gives us a bit of breathing space.
“People come from all-over to this Festival and we have to give them plenty of advance warning.”
The main feature at Listowel, of course, is the €160,000 Guinness Kerry National and that will be run, as normal, on Wednesday.
A revised programme of entries for the entire week will be published by HRI today.
Because there will be no flat racing at Listowel, Horse Racing Ireland moved quickly to fill that particular gap. As a result there will be three new fixtures at Dundalk next week, on Monday, Friday and Saturday.
The first race on Monday will go off at 6.20 and details of Friday and Saturday will be issued by HRI today.
