Weather woe labelled cause of decline in crowds at race meetings

Ireland’s major racecourses endured contrasting fortunes in their attendance figures for 2015 due to the vagaries of the weather.

While meetings such as the Punchestown Festival were hit with heavy rain that saw crowds drop, the Curragh enjoyed a good year, with figures up by 6.5 per cent.

“We had a good year at the Curragh. Thankfully we didn’t have too much bad weather,” said general manager Paul Hensey.