Next year's list of Irish race meetings carries an interesting fixture on January 1st which will, uniquely, make Tramore the only racing event going ahead in either Ireland or Britain. The tote in the UK failed in their triple-pay efforts to get their staff to work on New Year's Day and as a result six of the planned race meetings have been postponed or cancelled.

No such queasiness from Tramore.

"They put in a strong case for the day and are very enthusiastic about it," said Mary FitzGerald, press and public relations executive of the Irish Horseracing Authority. "They've sorted it out with staff and are very much looking forward to staging the meeting."

Neither the National League in soccer nor the IRFU have scheduled any matches on New Year's Day while in Britain no matches will be played until Monday 3rd January.