Hopes are high that next week’s Galway festival can attract nearly 130,000 race fans to Ballybrit, where officials believe its menu of mixed cards is an important factor in the meeting’s popular appeal.
Galway will be the only meeting held this year with programmes containing both flat and jumps races.
Once common in Ireland, mixed programmes have been phased out in recent years. Professionals such as trainers and jockeys generally dislike them from a costs point of view and there are logistical and administrative issues with maintaining racing surfaces suitable for both codes.
However, some racecourse managements have argued for their return, including for September’s Harvest festival in Listowel, as they believe it helps get customers through the gates.
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With Tipperary unable to host its traditional mixed card on the first Sunday of October due to construction work, next week’s Galway action will be the only mixed racing of 2026.
Galway’s chief executive Michael Moloney has always argued the mix works. “I’ve been very strong on that all along. I think it’s a key difference to Galway and I think everyone really appreciates it. It brings in everyone, flat or national hunt, supporting [the festival] and it brings more people in the door.
“It’s not something I would like to see change. I’d be very worried if we were going to go down the line of changing that. To me it’s what has drawn crowds to Galway and, hopefully, it continues into the future,” said Moloney, who was appointed to the board of the Association of Irish Racecourses in 2023.
“I appreciate from the other side in terms of trainers and jockeys, etc, when they go to a particular race meeting and there’s only two or three National Hunt races and you’re a National Hunt jockey; I do appreciate it from that point of view.
“[But] a lot of trainers now are mixed in terms of codes that they train for. For me, there’s definitely a place for them in Ireland and I think they help draw people into Galway and I think they would elsewhere as well. I would definitely be an advocate of them,” he added.
An official attendance of 125,997 over the seven days was returned for last year’s Galway festival, up almost 10,000 on 2024. The biggest single crowd was 26,234 on the Friday evening. Bookmaker turnover was reported to be more than €7.5 million. The Tote reached €5.8 million.
After heatwave conditions for much of the country in July, the weather outlook appears to be more mixed for next week, although Moloney says the crucial element is that it is set to be mainly dry.
“The 31 degree heat last week would not be good for racing at all, so we’re happy to see those temperatures coming down. From a track-watering point of view it helps when it’s not that hot. The watering we do lasts that bit longer.
“Dry weather is definitely the key thing. We got lucky with a largely dry week last year and we’d great crowds as a result,” Moloney commented.
Before that, Aidan O’Brien will try to record a fifth success in Saturday’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Last month’s Irish Derby hero Benvenuto Cellini is one of a Ballydoyle quartet in a 10-strong entry left in the £2 million (€2.3 million) midsummer highlight after Monday’s latest acceptance stage.
Francis Graffard’s stars, Calandagan and Goliath, winner of the King George for the last two years, are on course to line up again as are the Japanese pair Masquerade Ball and Wuttemberg. Last year’s runner-up Kalpana is set to lead the home team.
“I think she’s a little bit fitter than she was last year and we were always sort of struggling to get weight off her last year. This year she has come to hand and stayed in a good place. It just seems to have occurred that way, but we are very happy with her,” Kalpana’s trainer, Andrew Balding, said.
Ballinrobe hosts a jumps card on Tuesday evening where Henry de Bromhead could enjoy a good meeting. The Co Waterford trainer sends seven runners, several with sound claims including French import Lureka Du Noyer in a novice hurdle.
