Thurles closure cast a shadow over festival week at Galway The news, which broke on Friday morning, that the Moloney family has decided to close Thurles Racecourse with immediate effect took everyone in the industry by surprise. Even Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) were given no prior warning, which seems most unusual given the knock-on implications for the sport in general and this year’s fixture list in particular. Thurles was scheduled to hold six race meetings between now and the end of the year. I don’t know all the details of why the Molony family decided now is the time to close, but I can’t help thinking that Michael O’Sullivan’s tragic fall at the course earlier this year played a significant role in their decision, though the official statement by the family included the following line: “Ever increasing industry demands and the cost of doing business has also been a major factor.” Poor Facilities and Potential Solutions With all the nostalgic reminiscing about Thurles across the media we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the facilities there are very poor by modern standards and the lack of a watering system was going to be unsustainable moving forward. HRI are due to meet with the Moloney family in the coming days to see if something can be worked out. You would imagine any potential deal would involve HRI paying the Moloneys a rent on the facility, while also staffing the fixtures with their own people if the racecourse is to continue in operation. Then there is also the issue of a watering system and other essential upgrades and who would pay for them. Historically, Thurles was the one course that could race through the wettest of winters, but in recent seasons Thurles has had significant difficulties of its own with a lack of moisture in the ground at crucial periods during the winter months. Any eleventh hour reprieve for the course is based on the presumption that the closure of Thurles is not linked to a sale of the land for building, in which case it would be near impossible for HRI to come up with an alternative offer to thwart that. It would be sad to see Thurles close permanently as its loss would probably be felt more than the 2008 closure of Tralee racecourse, but neither of those comes close to the strategic loss the sport suffered with the 1990 closure of the iconic Phoenix Park and yet the industry survived that calamity. Galway Festival Success and Bookmaker Disputes Changing the subject, there was so much going on at both Galway and Goodwood last week that it was hard to keep pace with it all. One small thing that bugged me on the Galway front was the on-course bookies that laid into the IHRB over a minor cock-up in failing to announce details of a withdrawn horse until 6 minutes after the ‘winner alright' signal was broadcast at the track on Saturday. This meant that the bookies paid out in full on any winning bets collected during that 6 minute window on Winning Smut in the Boylesports Handicap Hurdle, rather than deducting a 10c Rule 4 from those bets. Yes, some on-course bookies would have been out of pocket for a few quid, but these same guys had a beano all week and many will have earned a year’s wages in just seven days. Disappointing Results for Punters and Rule 4 Flaws Out of the 53 races run at Galway only 11 favourites and 1 joint-favourite managed to win and in the handicap races the results were even worse for the beleaguered punters. 28 handicap races across the seven days and only 3 favourites and a joint-favourite managed to oblige. Hard to shed many tears for the bookies over a 10c Rule 4 blip. On the subject of Rule 4 deductions, Galway week highlights a flaw in the system whereby off-course and online punters are getting stung for deductions on their winning bets in a large number of races when reserves are coming in to replace the withdrawn horses. How can it be fair to suffer a 10c Rule 4 because an 8/1 shot is declared a non-runner after you place a bet, but then another 8/1 shot or shorter comes into the race to replace it. Reserves got to run in 19 different races over the seven days at Galway and 2 of them went on to win. Pleasing Attendances and Betting Figures The attendances at Galway followed the trends we have seen at most of the big festivals this year with numbers rising significantly. Overall the week’s attendance was up almost 10,000 from last year with the total attendance over the seven days hitting 125,997. Betting turnover is also moving in the right direction. €13.5 million was wagered at the track across the week, with the on-course bookies seeing an increase of 13% in their business since last year with turnover in the ring amounting to €7.5 million. These numbers are extremely positive for the sport, but also highlight a significant shift in consumer behavior. While the big festivals are showing large increases in both attendances and betting turnover the minor midweek fare, which Thurles was synonymous for, is continuing to struggle. It’s hardly reasonable to expect the smaller courses, which are vital cogs in the overall industry, to struggle on earning less and less from media rights and gate receipts while the big tracks boom.
