Thirsty punters will down 160,000 pints and chow through five tonnes of Irish beef at the Galway Races next week.
Up to 150,000 racegoers are expected to make the annual pilgrimage to the Ballybrit track as they let their hair down and try to beat the bookies.
Organisers have pulled out all the stops to celebrate 150 years as Ireland’s biggest racing festival – and one of Europe’s largest.
Around €100million is expected to be gambled with 52 races over the seven days and a record prize fund of €300,000 for the feature race, the Galway Plate.
Irish Rail is laying on extra trains and the city will be hit with road diversions – but it’ll be worth the hassle as the festival generates around €70million for the economy.
Racecourse manager Michael Moloney said advance sales were well ahead of last year because of the buzz around the milestone celebrations. He added: “People want to come and be part of Ballybrit this year. It’s a special year – it’s not often a festival or business marks 150 years.
“I think we’ve captured people’s imagination and they want to come and be part of it.”
The style stakes are higher than ever with the best-dressed lady bagging a luxury holiday to the Seychelles plus €3,000 in spending money.
In all there will be 70,000 meals served, washed down with 6,000 bottles of wine and Champagne.
A total of 1,500 staff will cater to punters’ needs, having already put in 150 hours of grass cutting to ensure the mecca of Irish racing is in its usual pristine condition.
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