At a time when more racegoer-friendly racecourses such as Roscommon and Fairyhouse are doing their best to accommodate the beleagured people of Ireland by lowering their admission prices, what are Galway Races doing?
Ranged behind the forbidding steel battlements of their €30 and €25 turnstiles, they steadfastly refuse to recognize the economic plight of their faithful supporters by introducing realistic admission fees.
It was hardly surprising therefore to read in today's Sunday Independent that the Galway executive allegedly showed little interest in PJ Walsh (farmer) and Tony Keenan (teacher) when the two men approached the Ballybrit Dragon's Den with their book The Galway Races Guide 2009.
"Every racetrack accommodated the duo in their attempts to sell the book with one exception: Galway. Officials there made no attempt to facilitate them; nor did they express any interest in discussing some form of cut of any profits made from sales at the track.
The booklet is available in Galway at Holland's Newsagent on Williamgate Street (off Eyre Square) and from Irish Racing Trends. Keenan was frustrated by the response from the course but was encouraged by "the great support from all the other tracks that were kind enough to facilitate us and everyone who we dealt with in the racing media who were ultra-helpful.
"It was disappointing that the Galway executive took little interest in the project, though I can see their point; they run the most successful meeting of the year and have obviously hit on the right formula in that regard so why would they want to allow two young fellas with no real track record in on the thing?
That said, I think the quality of content speaks for itself and we are at a time when any sort of innovation in Irish Racing should be nurtured."
Read the complete report in today's Sunday Independent
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