Former Mayor of Galway says Galway Plate racing should start earlier

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Former Mayor of Galway John Mulholland says the start-time for Galway Plate Day, the Wednesday of the 7 day festival, should be earlier, as it was in the past. The race meeting got underway at 3p.m yesterday with the big race at 5.30p.m. Galway Bay fm newsroom – The crowd of 18,766 was almost 5000 more than last year while the betting of 2.3 million was up by 640 thousand euro. However 2013 had a lower than usual attendance due to weather conditions. The later start time for Plate Day has been in place for a few years now but bookmaker John Mulholland told Galway Talks he believes it's not working for race-goers or businesses. Today the focus will be on fashion as much as on the horses as it's Ladies Day. The Anthony Ryans Best Dressed Lady will walk away with a one carat diamond pendant and matching diamond earrings valued at €8,500, a shopping spree to the value of €1,500 and €1000 Cash. The prize for the winner of the ‘Best Hat' competition is a shopping spree worth €1,500 in Anthony Ryans while the winner of the new ‘Wear Irish' competition will receive a shopping voucher worth €500. The first race is at 1.50 this afternoon while the feature race the Galway Hurdle is at 4.55pm and a reminder that Galway Bay fm will bring you live coverage and analysis.