Despite the wind and rain, thousands flocked to Fairyhouse racecourse in Co Meath yesterday for the Powers Gold Label Irish Grand National.With the change in weather the attendance was never going to top the venue's record of 25,000. But, at 17,942, it was still up by 3,000 on last year.
Betting also saw a rise of €440,000 to over €2.5 million - belying talk of a recession in the economy. Almost €2 million of that was taken by the bookies - who made up for their recent ill-fortune in Cheltenham, where there were 10 winning favourites last month - by cheering home four winners priced 10/1 or over.
The downpours mightn't have suited racegoers, but they were manna from heaven for the horses. The firm ground had earlier promised treacherous jumping conditions.
Erring on the side of caution, the connections of Beef or Salmon have pulled the horse out of today's Powers Gold Cup, thereby setting up the prospect of literally a two-horse race in the €80,000 event. Punters may at least have a better chance in it than yesterday's racing.
Grand National day drew the usual diverse crowd. While children played in the funfair at the edge of the car-park, the great and the good mingled in the private, upper echelons of the Powers Gold Label Stand.
Among those seen in the crowd were the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue; former Taoiseach Mr John Bruton; and Armagh football manager Mr Joe Kernan. Big race presentations were performed by Mr Richard Burrows, chairman of the Irish Distillers Group, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who revealed he was out of luck in the event, having backed The Dell.
AA Roadwatch reported good traffic movement both to and from the races. Elsewhere on the roads, the picture was more gloomy yesterday with long delays at Rathnew on the N11, Moate on the N4, and Abbeyleix on the N8. Flooding on the N7 between Monasterevin and Kildare caused delays, while at Edgeworthstown on the N4 there were 45-minute tail-backs.
Although yesterday brought a gloomy end to the bank holiday weekend weather-wise, today promises bright or sunny periods, according to Met Éireann, with the possibility of scattered showers.
