THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED. 5 WEEKS TO GO TO THE GALWAY RACES,

MONDAY 29TH JULY TO SUNDAY 4TH AUGUST 2024.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • OVER €2.15 MILLION IN PRIZE MONEY ON OFFER
  • NEW LOCAL SPONSORS
  • BIGGEST LINE UP OF MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT YET
  • MIKE DENVER TO HEADLINE THE POPULAR ‘COUNTRY MUSIC DAY’
  • CASH PRIZE OF €13,000 FOR BEST DRESSED LADY COMPETITION WITH NEW GUEST JUDGE, MICHELLE REGAZZOLI STONE
  • NEW JUDGE LOUISE CANTILLON FOR FRIDAYS MOST STYLIST COMPETITION
  • NEW OFFICIAL BRAND AMBASSADORS ANNOUNCED
  • IRISH ARTIST SHANE O’MALLEY TO UNVEAL A SPLASH OF COLOUR AT THE FESTIVAL
  • MELBOURNE CUP COMES TO GALWAY AS PART OF ITS WORLD TOUR
  • BALLYBRIT’S PUSH ON SUSTAINABILITY
  • FUNDRAISING BALL FOR GALWAY NATIVE GRAHAM LEE PROVES A BIG HIT

 

The Countdown Is On

 In less than five weeks’ time, the highly anticipated and much-loved Galway Races Summer Festival returns, kicking off from Monday 29th July to Sunday 4th August. With fifty-three races and eight hundred horses due on site over the seven days, the festival has a luring prize fund of over €2.159 million on offer. Each day offers a minimum prize fund of €110,000 for the feature race, with a minimum value for any race at Galway standing at €17,000. Galway is unique in that it offers a mixed card for the week with a combination of both national hunt and flat races being held on all seven days.

 

Anthony Ryan, Chairman of the Galway Race Committee said, “We are once again delighted to present the iconic Galway Racing Festival. We eagerly anticipate huge attendances from our loyal fan base, from families and groups of friends and from many first-time race goers. The festival offers top class horse racing, superb prize money, delicious hospitality options, lots of live entertainment and fashion to take your breath away. With the support of our Sponsors and Partners, we anticipate this year’s Festival to be the best yet. We look forward to welcoming you all to Ballybrit.’’

 

The hotly contested Tote Galway Plate on Wednesday 31st July, a race synonymous with Galway and key to the history of the festival, has a prize fund of €270,000 on offer. The Tote Galway Plate is a race awash with quality, with experienced chasers taking on emerging youngsters. The race cards on Thursday 1st August and Friday 2nd August are sponsored in full by the Galway Races long standing partner, Guinness, with Thursdays Guinness Galway Hurdle worth €270,000!

New Partnerships Deals

 Demand for race sponsorship has always proved strong for the Galway Races with this Summer seeing some new names added to the sponsors rostrum.

  • Galway Racecourse are delighted to welcome onboard the Salthill Hotel, located on the picturesque promenade in Galway City. Salthill Hotel have signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Galway Racecourse to sponsor the eight race on Saturday 3rd August, ‘The Salthill Hotel Irish European Breeders Fund Mares Flat Race’.
  • Local family-owned business, Whiriskey Refrigeration have come onboard this Summer to mark and celebrate 50 years in business. Whiriskey Refrigeration have signed a two-year sponsorship deal to sponsor the fifth race on Saturday 3rd August, ‘The Whiriskey Refrigeration Irish European Breeders Fund Nursery Handicap Race’.
  • The third new name to join the sponsor list is local organisation, ‘The Village Salthill’, a representative group made up of many businesses in Salthill. The aspiration is to help create an environment in the ‘Village’ and surrounding areas that makes it a quality location to live, work and holiday in. ‘The Village Salthill’ have signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Galway Racecourse to sponsor the seventh race on the popular family fun ‘Mad Hatters Day’ Sunday 4th August, ‘The Village Salthill Handicap’.

 

Feature races on the supporting cards include The Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap of €110,000, The Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap of €120,000, The BoyleSport Handicap Hurdle valued at €110,000, and The Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund “Ahonoora” Handicap of €110,000. Partnerships have been the backbone and key to the success of the iconic Galway Races.

Best Line Up of Live Music Yet, including Country Music Star Mike Denver

 This year, the team in Galway present to you its biggest musical line up yet! With over fifty live music performances and entertainers booked for over the seven days of the festival, including the highlight on Galway Plate Day, Mike Denver for the Country Music Day. In addition, you can enjoy bands such as Spring Break, Pyramid, Bongo Steve, Sean Slattery & The Connections, The Galway Tenors, The Gamblers, Lackagh Comhaltas, The Conquerors plus lots more!

 

Brand Ambassador Programme  

 Following on from its success last Summer, Galway Races is proud to be with eight selected ‘Official Brand Ambassadors’, who will be part of a money can’t buy experience at the Galway Races. Commenting on the Brand Ambassador Programme, Michael Moloney Chief Executive of Galway Racecourse said, “the passion and loyalty of our fans is hugely evident, especially in the run up to, and during the Summer Festival. Social Media has allowed fans to become more closely knit and feel more part of our team. Our Brand Ambassador Programme was a huge hit and we’re delighted today to announce our new seven Galway Races Brand Ambassadors: Emma Morgan, Niall Crossan, Liz Kavanagh, Robert Moloney, Laura Hanlon, Rachel Rice, Daryl Miley and Tracy McGuinness.” Each ambassador receives a seven-day VIP pass to the Summer Festival, official Galway Races merchandise, plus an opportunity to meet up close and personal the stars of Irish racing.

 

Shane O’Malley: A Merge of Equine and Art Mural to be Unveiled!

 Galway Racecourse are delighted to be working with Irish artist Shane O’Malley, who thanks to the support of funding from the Irish Arts Council, will unveil a visual treat for all guests at the Galway Races this Summer.  A story of passion, art, and heritage this collaboration between the Galway Races and Shane O’Malley offers an unparalleled opportunity to tell a story that resonates with a wide audience.  By documenting this journey, Galway Racecourse aims to create a narrative that celebrates Irish culture, the art of horse racing, and the transformative power of art. A resident of Galway for 15 years, Shane has been commissioned to daub his works on the walls of villages and towns across Ireland, and elsewhere around the world. Stay tuned!

 

The Lexus Melbourne Cup is Coming to Galway as Part of its European Tour

 This year marks the 164th running of the Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m), the world’s richest handicap with prizemoney worth $AUD8.4 million and a trophy worth $AUD750,000, making it one of the most prized trophies in world sport.  This year, the trophy will travel approximately 110,000 kilometres across the world, before arriving back to Melbourne in the days before the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5 November. It will have travelled to 39 destinations on the Cup Tour, giving people across the world the chance to experience the magic of the People’s Cup.  As part of its European journey, the iconic trophy will visit the Galway Races Summer Festival on Saturday 3rd August.  The Melbourne Cup has strong Irish ties with four Irish trained horses winning Australia’s most iconic race in its 163-year history, Vintage Crop (1993) with trainer Dermot Weld, Media Puzzle (2002), Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020).

 

Guardians of the Green: The Galway Racecourse Legacy

 In 2023 Galway Racecourse worked with Dr Johanna Clancy, a lecturer in Business Enterprise from J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at the University of Galway, along with four students from the school’s MBA programme to present proposals on how to make the racecourses operations more sustainable based on the Global Sustainable Development Goals. The proposals proved a great catalyst for a continued set of reforms at Ballybrit. To showcase the work currently bring done by the team in Galway Racecourse, they commissioned Heavy Man Films to capture the various projects in a short video called “Guardians of the Green: The Galway Racecourse Legacy”. This video reinforces Galway Racecourse’s role as a steward of nature and the importance of sustainability. “We are guardians of this special place and merely passing through. We want to pass it on knowing that we did all we possibly could to sustain its natural integrity and beauty far into the future”, quote Michael Moloney CEO at the track.

 

Family Entertainment

 Since its inception, the Galway Races has always been a multi-generational event, offering something for all ages over the seven days. Sunday is traditionally a family-fun ‘Mad Hatters Day’ kindly supported by Ireland West Airport who sponsor fantastic prizes for both the children’s and adults colourful ‘Mad Hatter’ competition. New enhancements to the day for families include:

  • A family ticket: advance ticket price €32.50. On the day price €40,
  • A new dedicated family friendly entrance,
  • Complimentary Galway Races back-bags for children on entry,
  • Complimentary family portrait area to ‘capture the moment’,
  • Plus, over twenty free activities for children to enjoy on the day. Plenty to keep everyone entertained.

 

Ticket Sales and Hospitality

 The Galway Races contributes over €54 Million to the local economy. Advance ticket sales have proved very strong, pacing ahead of 2023 figures. To celebrate our 2024 festival, Galway Races have a special offer on general admission tickets with €5 off each ticket up to the day of the race meeting, plus a new €70 three-day bundle ticket and a new flexi-ticket offer, all available to buy online via www.galwayraces.com

 

Television Coverage

 The first four action packed days of the Galway Races will be broadcast by RTÉ Television, coming live to you from Ballybrit daily  with race commentary and insight.
Galway Racecourse are once again delighted to have the Irish language broadcaster TG4, who will broadcast live on Friday 2nd August and Saturday 3th August. The live coverage on TG4 will include sixteen action packed races over the two days and feature races such as The Guinness Handicap, The Galway Blazers Steeplechase, and The BoyleSports Handicap Hurdle on Saturday.

To compliment the above television broadcast, Racing TV will cover and broadcast every one of the fifty-two races live from track.

Ladies Day

 Galway Racecourse is delighted to announce a new guest judge, Michelle Regazzoli Stone, award winning make-up artist, social media influencer and ‘Mrs Glam’ brand co-creator, for the Galway Races Summer Festival ‘Best Dressed Lady’ and ‘Best Hat’ competitions that take place on Thursday 1st August, ‘Guinness Galway Hurdle Day’ during the seven-day Summer Festival. This promises to be one of the biggest days in the Irish racing calendar, and an unmissable day out for fashion lovers, with a generous cash bonanza of €13,000 on offer sponsored by The Connacht Hospitality Group.

 

Judging the Best Dressed Lady competitions on the day is Head Judge and well-known stylist Mandy Maher who will be joined by fellow judge Kieran O’Malley Digital Marketing Manager for the Connacht Hospitality Group.

 

Friday’s Most Stylish

 Athlone Towncentre enters its twelfth year leading the Friday’s Most Stylish competition at the Galway Races that takes place on Friday, 2nd August from 4pm.  This year the prizes are better than ever with celebrity judges Louise Cantillon & Marietta Doran seeking stand out style with sustainability in mind from attendees on the day.  This year sees the biggest prize fund on offer to date for the competition winner with a Shop & Stay Break courtesy of Athlone Towncentre.  The lucky winner will leave Galway Racecourse with a €2,000 Athlone Towncentre Gift Card, a luxury two-night break in the four star Sheraton Athlone Hotel in a Deluxe Tower Room with dinner & spa treatments and an exquisite white gold diamond pendant courtesy of Fields The Jewellers, who are one of the many retailers located in Athlone Towncentre.

 

 The Galway Races Summer Festival Ball 2024, proudly supporting Graham Lee.

 Galway Racecourse will host a fundraising event on the Saturday night of the Galway Races in The Galmont Hotel & Spa, all in-aid of Galway Native Jockey Graham Lee who had a life changing accident earlier this year. Graham had done it all as a jockey; notably achieving the rare distinction of winning some of the most prestigious races over both jumps and on the flat. Graham, whose parents and family are from a stone’s throw of the Ballybrit track, had a notable win in Galway when winning the 2010 Guinness Galway Hurdle on board Overturn for trainer Donal McCain.

 

“Ticket sales are proving very popular with over 450 sold to date! We are delighted to be joined by Gráinne Seoige and Brian Gleeson who will co-host this spectacular black-tie event, alongside close friends of Graham, and Chairman of the UK and Irish Injured Jockey’s fund Sir. Anthony McCoy and Ruby Walsh”, quote Michael Moloney. Tickets are selling fast, priced at €200 each and available via galwayraces.com.

 

Shop Window Competition- Win Tickets to the Galway Races for your staff.

 The Galway Races are inviting businesses across Galway City and County to take part in their ‘Shop Window Competition’. Businesses, no matter what size, could be in with a chance of winning an exclusive prize of a VIP Day at the races for your team worth €3,000 plus complimentary tickets for the races for each entry received.

Widely regarded as the highlight of the Summer Season in Ireland, the Galway Races looks forward to welcoming its race goers back to Ballybrit for one amazing week that offers its guests great horse racing, entertainment, fashion, reunions with friends and family and an electric fun atmosphere that continues to draw people from all over the world. To book your ticket to this year’s Galway Races check out www.galwayraces.com The Galway Races is calling you.  See you soon.

 

For further information or to arrange a media interview please contact:

Michael Moloney (Chief Executive) or Sinéad Cassidy (Director of Marketing & Communications).

Phone: +353 91 700 100. Email: information@galwayraces.com