The parade ring at Galway© Photo Healy Racing
The vast majority of people that turn up at racing Festivals like Galway at the end of this month go for the craic. A couple of drinks, a few bets, a bite to eat, maybe a couple more drinks and a good day is generally had by all.
As an industry, big days like Galway are rightly seen as a success. The sport gets to showcase its product to a far larger audience than normal and these customers invariably have a great time.
There is the expectation that a decent percentage of these racegoers will come back again and I’m sure many do return for similar days out at other festivals and big days, but somehow I feel these people are missing the essence of what horse racing is all about and what makes it such a compelling sport for its regular fans.
I will try and explain what I mean with the following example about the handicap rating for one horse and the knock-on effect it can have:
On last week’s Irish Angle video show I flagged up what appeared to be an error by the official handicappers with the initial Flat rating they allotted to Samui trained by Gordon Elliott.
The five-year-old, a winner of a bumper and two hurdle races, had his attention switched to the flat at the end of May when he won a 1m2f maiden at Down Royal, despite missing the break. His next start on the flat was at Bellewstown earlier this month where he contested an Amateur Riders’ race over 1m4f and finished second.
In the Bellewstown race he split a pair of highly rated performers, Eagle’s Way (rated 97) and Enniskerry (rated 98). Samui was conceding 5lbs in weight to Eagle’s Way who beat him 1.75L and raced off level weights with Enniskerry who finished 0.5L behind him.
Based on Samui’s performance at Bellewstown, only his second race under Flat rules, it seemed reasonable to expect him to receive an official handicap rating of close to 100.
For some reason he was given a rating of just 89 before he reappeared at Killarney last Tuesday in a 2m1f handicap where, unsurprisingly, he was sent off a short-priced favourite and duly romped home by 17 lengths.
The handicappers have now corrected the error with Samui who has been pushed up to a rating of 102, but it will be interesting to see what, if any, action is taken regarding the ratings of the other pair from the Bellewstown race.
After the Bellewstown race Eagle’s Way, who was having his first Flat start in Ireland, had his handicap rating left unchanged at 97, while Enniskerry was subsequently dropped to a mark of 95.
Following the performance of Samui at Killarney it now appears the handicappers underestimated the entire form of the Bellewstown race.
Enniskerry and Samui have both been entered for the €110,000 Connaught Hotel (QR) handicap on the opening evening of Galway Races next Monday. Should Gordon Elliott have protected the 89 rating of Samui for the prestigious Galway contest? Or can he still win it off top weight? Or is Enniskerry now the one that is well-treated off 95?
It is these types of intriguing sub-plots that in my opinion makes horse racing such a fascinating sport to follow, but how do you get that across to the tens of thousands of revellers that will turn up at Galway next week?
You might say that this particular audience doesn’t care, they are only going for a good time, and this type of content would bore them to tears and that is probably the truth.
On the other hand, if they were aware and engaged in these sub-plots they would surely get even more enjoyment out of their day at the races and it might just plant the seed that eventually converts them into lifelong fans of horse racing.
Even on a more mainstream level, all regular racing fans will be fully aware of the significance of seeing horses trained by Mrs. C. O’Leary at Galway next week. She is training for her brother Tony Martin while he serves a suspension due to one of his winners testing positive for a prohibited substance last year.
Tony Martin hit the headlines last month when one of the horses trained by his sister Cathy won a big race at Newcastle. Martin, despite being suspended from training, got involved in the post-race celebrations and it later transpired that he had also given the pre-race riding instructions to the winning jockey.
Martin subsequently apologised for his actions at Newcastle and promised to stay away from race meetings for the remainder of his suspension, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) referring the matter on to its Referral Committee and the trainer has now been slapped with a further two months on the sidelines and a €5,000 fine.
In light of this, and Martin’s long history of big race winners at Galway, there will be added interest in runners trained by Mrs. C. O’Leary next week. Should she train a winner, space around the parade ring is likely to be at a premium with fans eager to see if her brother breaks his curfew, but none of the once-a-year-revellers will have any inkling about what is going on.
I suppose it would be the same for me if I went to watch a cricket match or another sport I wasn’t familiar with. I’d know the basic rules and be able to enjoy it as a spectacle, but would be blissfully unaware of the more nuanced aspects of the game and the various sub-plots at play. And this is precisely why I’d be unlikely to become a convert.
Those who stay at home and watch sports on TV are far better informed.
While the TV presenters covering Galway are unlikely to delve as deeply as I have here about the ratings for the amateur riders’ race on Monday, they will definitely mention the back story about Cathy O’Leary’s runners and many more interesting anecdotes and titbits which add colour and context to the sport.
If this could be replicated for the paying customers we might see more bums on seats throughout the year, rather than just at the festivals.
Changing the subject slightly, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) published an underwhelming set of industry figures last week for the key metrics relating to the first six months of 2024. The headline number was a fall of 1.5% in racecourse attendances (535,831) compared to the same period last year. Bad weather and cancellations were cited as contributing factors.
If the industry is to match last year’s total attendance of 1.2m for the full year it will need Galway to deliver next week. The seven days at Galway account for 10% of annual attendances which makes it a most important week for the sport.
