Galway Races: All quiet on the western front

Centroid, with Gavin Ryan up, left, beats Penny Out (Trevor Whelan) to win the Easyfix Handicap on day one of the Galway Races at Ballybrit last night. Picture: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

TO a man who has been coming to the Galway Races for 40 years, which in itself is a sobering realisation, today’s experience for the opening of the 2020 meeting was surreal.

The short walk between the now empty betting ring and the Mayor’s garden still plays host to those antiquated buildings which, in busier days, offered respite from the crowd and do not fail to evoke many great memories. But today Galway lacked that verve.