Ballinrobe waiting patiently for resumption of racing

Many racecourses are very much part of the social fabric of their community and Ballinrobe, which was due to hold the first of ten meetings in 2020 this evening, exemplifies this as much as anywhere in the country.

The County Mayo racecourse is noted for the great atmosphere generated by its enthusiastic racegoers, and facilities have progressed greatly both on and off the track under the stewardship of Racecourse Manager John Flannelly.

Racing first took place at Ballinrobe in 1921 but modern developments at the track were initiated with the building of a grandstand holding 1,800 people in the early 1990’s after the previous one was badly damaged in a storm. A new Tote building and weighroom have followed in the intervening years.

In recent times further facilities such as a new main entrance and restaurant have been added, while the stableyard and parade ring have also been upgraded.

On the track itself an outer loop was added in 2013 to extend the course in the back straight. This has been well received by both trainers and riders and has seen the quality of racing progress at the western venue.

However, the current cancellation of all sporting events due to COVID-19 means Ballinrobe, like all 26 Irish racecourses, is unable to open its gates.

“The place would normally be a hive of activity today and being a Friday evening meeting would be hugely popular but it is what it is,” said Flannelly.

“If times were normal the town would be busy with people booking restaurants for after racing and the pubs, B & B’s and all the shops would also be doing well.

“The phone here has just died as nobody is ringing because nothing is happening. In fairness to the government they seem to be doing a good job so we will just have to bear with this until we get the right outcome.”

The recent fine spell of weather has been some rare good news as the track is in great shape for whenever racing does resume.

“We are maintaining the track as if we were going to race next week. The grass is cut and the place is in good condition. The weather has been a big help in that regard,” confirmed Flannelly.

“These are uncertain times and I’m sure when racing comes back it will be behind closed doors. I noted that Minister Harris said the other night that social distancing will be there until a vaccine is got. That was a fair statement as we could be looking at a long time.”

The economic impact of coronavirus is now hitting Ballinrobe racecourse like so many businesses worldwide and even racing coming back behind closed doors will mean no gate receipts.

“When you are losing meetings (the financial cost) it’s huge. Any media rights you have are gone.

“No more than any other racecourse we have had huge investment over the years to bring it to where it is today and that is going to put pressure on as well. But it’s the same for everyone. If you’re a trainer you have no place to bring horses to race.

“The cost of running a race meeting is roughly in the region of €60,000 and I’m sure it’s a lot more for some of the bigger tracks.

“Some of our track staff come in at the start of March and are there until the end of October. On race days I’d have 50 staff in all the different areas to make sure everything is going like clockwork.

“We have just a skeleton staff at the moment. Some people have been put on the government temporary payment for the time being until we can figure out where we are.

“We have Flat and National Hunt racing but all the fixtures will have to be re-allocated as the fixture list is gone out the window.”

Flannelly is also fearful of the impact on the wider horseracing industry saying, “The one way that horse racing is different to other sports is that it is an industry. For a small island we have a huge breeding operation in this country and so many people are employed either directly or indirectly.”

McHale Engineering, which is based alongside the racecourse and is a leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery, sponsors the McHale Mayo National and the McHale Mayo Handicap Hurdle - both races worth €50,000 last year.

“The McHale Mayo National this year is worth €70,000 and it’s the first time we’ve had a Graded race which is big for us. That won’t go ahead (on May 26) as when racing comes back it will be all Flat for a month but hopefully we will be able to stage that meeting later on in the year,” said Flannelly.

The development of the outer loop has coincided with an upturn in the quality of horses running at Ballinrobe and both Tiger Roll and Wicklow Brave won their beginners chase at the track.

“It took a while to build the outer loop and get it right but it has made a huge difference. We have also brought the Flat course to the outer ring after the Ringfort and that has made a huge difference to the Flat bends. Seamie Heffernan came to me last year and said he’d never seen the track riding as well which is nice to hear,” added Flannelly.

There was sad news recently with the passing of racecourse stalwart Norman Molloy. “Norman was our Secretary and a long-standing committee member. In the current situation very few were allowed to attend the funeral but it was nice to see all the business community in the town step out onto either side of the street outside their businesses. It was a great tribute to him.”