Galway Races prize pot hits €2m for first time
The white flag hasn’t even been raised yet – but the Galway Races are already off to a flyer with news that this year’s prize pot will smash the €2 million mark for the very first time.
On top of that, each day of the seven-day Summer Festival will see a prize in excess of €100,000 for the feature race – the pick of the race from a 52-strong card over the hectic week.
That overall prize fund has been increased by €123,000 on last year’s Festival, which will run from Monday, July 31, to Sunday, August 6.
Monday’s feature the Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap is now worth €100,000 with Tuesday’s feature race the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap valued at €120,000.
The hotly contested thetote.com Galway Plate on Wednesday has received a significant increase of €30,000 with the prize fund for 2017 now standing at €250,000.
“We’re delighted that the historical thetote.com Galway Plate will this year be worth €250,000, an increase of €30,000 on last year’s race value,” said Tim Higgins, Chief Executive of Tote Ireland.
“The race has a long, proud tradition at the heart of Irish racing so it’s great news. The race is always a thrilling one and the quality of the race really stands up especially when you look at the most recent winners,” he added.
Guinness are once again title sponsors on Thursday and Friday with the famous Guinness Galway Hurdle, worth an impressive €300,000, a race that draws huge attention on the day traditionally referred to as Ladies Day. Friday features the Guinness Handicap valued at €100,000.
Looking towards the weekend, Saturday’s Galway Shopping Centre Handicap Hurdle and Sunday’s Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Ahonoora” Handicap are each worth €100,000.
“It’s a huge credit to our sponsors and Horse Racing Ireland who with their support have enabled us to offer for the very first time a feature race every day valued at a minimum of €100,000,” said Galway Racecourse General Manager Michael Moloney.
“It is also particularly pleasing to see the minimum race value of every race during the Festival set at €15,000. We have an exciting programme on the cards for 2017 and we look forward to offering some great racing and entertainment here in Galway during the Festival,” he added.
For more information and to book tickets to this summer’s Galway Races visit www.galwayraces.com