The Curragh© Photo Healy Racing
Three weeks ago the Curragh Racecourse opened its doors to the public for the first time since the €81 million redevelopment and received mixed reviews.
The stand, now appropriately named in honour of the Aga Khan who was one of the driving forces behind the redevelopment, is stunning and finished throughout to the highest standards but many of the basic practicalities of a day at the races had been overlooked.
In the relatively short space of time between that first public airing and last weekend's official opening a number of the key issues have been addressed by the racecourse executive.
The slippy grass and concrete walkway between the stand and parade ring is now just concrete.
There is a new owners and trainers marquee at the far side of the parade ring to cater for the overflow from the similar facility in the main stand which couldn't cope with the numbers at the opening fixture.
This marquee sits well on the site and finishes off that side of the parade ring nicely.
The fundamental issue of the Owners' lounge in the grandstand being too small for purpose is something I am sure many would like to know how it ever got sign off. Perhaps in the longer-term the layout of the grandstand can be rejigged. The jockeys' changing rooms have been built to accommodate 70 jockeys at a time (and a further 16 lady jockeys in a separate changing room). There will never be that number riding on a given day.
On the opening day there was an unusually high number horses declared, 128 runners, including a 30 runner race confined to apprentices, yet only 58 jockeys in total had rides.
Yesterday, a more average number of 92 horses ran and the total number of jockeys that rode them was 39.
Mobile coffee and ice-cream vans adjacent to the betting ring were another welcome addition over the weekend as there had been issues at the opening meeting with people queuing for significant periods of time for teas and coffees and there was nowhere on site to buy sweets or chocolates for children.
On Sunday afternoon there was not a single person queuing at any of the food or drink outlets in the main hall on the ground floor between the second and third races. This is obviously a marked improvement on the Bank Holiday fixture at the beginning of the month where there were long queues for the Atrium cafe throughout the day.
Extra ticket booths outside the entrance meant there were no queues in that area either.
Parade ring viewing is an area that requires some further attention. A ten meter long set of three steps has been added at the lower end of the ring which is a welcome addition but more is needed.
Because the parade ring is situated at one end of the stand it is on that side that the crowd congregates between races and unless you are in the front row it is difficult to view the horses. This is also the same side of the parade ring where the TV pundits have their positions and this further reduces the area for the public to view the horses.
There are a number of park benches alongside the parade ring but they are too low to see the horses. The stools that were around the old parade ring were a much better idea and should be reintroduced.
Free Wifi was available over the weekend as part of a HRI initiative which will see the majority of tracks with this service by the end of the summer and it worked fine.
A few people mentioned to me about the lack of bins on site and it is hard to figure out why that should be the case. In the main Champions Hall there are several sets of three bins for organic, plastic and general waste in nice neat units but then on the first floor outside the Derby Bar there were two members of staff standing holding bin liners all day for people to throw their rubbish into. Surely there could be a better use found for these guys' time.
The Paddy Power betting counter was open in the Champions Hall and adds a bit to the overall space in this main gathering area but I feel this whole section needs some more thought on the best way to use the space.
At present it feels like an area you walk through rather than a destination in itself. This may be the case if you are heading to the members' or sponsors' lounges on the upper levels but for the general admission customers this is where the atmosphere needs to be.
The Curragh management envisaged the terrace outside the public Derby Bar on the first floor as being the hub of the site but so far this hasn't worked. It is open on three sides and wasn't a place you would linger yesterday in a stiff breeze.
Sunday was a blustery afternoon, nothing unusual on the wide open expanses of the Curragh plains, but it caused quite a consternation at the races.
It turns out that when the wind blows in from a certain direction the roof of the stand makes a whistling noise. A loud irritating noise that persisted all day and was the talk of the racecourse.
This noise was initially discovered during construction and acoustic engineers are expected to implement a solution in the near future. It is hard to understand why this anomaly wasn't found at the design stage but hopefully it can be rectified without much further expense.
The next meeting at the Curragh is scheduled for Friday evening the 7th June and will feature the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes.
