Eddie Mulholland of Mulholland's Bookmakers spoke to Keith Finnegan as Galway Bay FM continued their excellent coverage of the Galway Races this morning.

Mulholland disclosed: "We actually came out on top – just about – on the racetrack. The first three races were a complete disaster – there is no way any bookmaker could have made money out of the first three.

"The big race then was a great result for us – Edeymi. I'd suppose in the last two we just about lost – a small few quid down in the last race with the second favourite (Wicklow Brave) winning.

"The middle three races – Edeymi, Target Acquired and Dark Crusader were all good results for us so we just about kept our noses in front.

"The slips held up very well on the track yesterday – there was a lot of punting going on with a lot of people up enjoying themselves. Money was slightly down again and we've noticed that for the last couple of years.

"The bets are holding up but the money is slightly down and that's nearly the same in the shops. We're pleasantly happy with the shops. We had a lot of shops that were actually up on trade and up on slips.

"We were a bit apprehensive coming into it but so far so good we're very happy with the start we've made.

"One bet we laid was three thousand to another bookmaker on Diplomat at 11/10 to lose thirty three hundred."

George McDonagh's charity bet courtesy of John Mulholland Bookmakers was 50 Euros each-way on Campanology in the Topaz Mile Handicap. The nominated charities were the Parkinson's Association of Galway and the Western Alzheimers Foundation. (EM)