A NOVEL twist to the Cheltenham racing festival, which gets under way tomorrow, will be a drive by Horse Racing Ireland to lure British punters to come to Ireland to enjoy racing here.
The promotion, which will see free tickets to Irish meetings being handed out to British racing fans on the course on St Patrick’s Day, is being spearheaded by Tamarisk Doyle, promotions manager of Horse Racing Ireland with Fáilte Ireland.
“Our job is to promote Irish racing and, as this is a huge festival, we are using the opportunity to promote Ireland as a great place to enjoy the sport.”
Ms Doyle flew out to the Cheltenham event early today, part of the huge contingent of at least 5,000 Irish punters who will be at the course for the annual festival which is expected to pump £1 billion into the local economy.
The recession has taken its toll on the regulars who make the pilgrimage to Cheltenham, but 200,000 visitors are expected. Some specialist tour companies have reported bookings drops of up to 20 per cent.
“A lot of people who might have gone for the week are now going on day-trips or for just one night. It’s an indication of a tightening of the purse strings here,” one operator said.
Extra flights, however, have been provided by the airlines, especially to Birmingham, and there have been heavier than usual bookings on the car ferries from Dublin, Belfast and Larne.
The Irish are travelling with high hopes this year following the charges of trainer Eddie O’Grady, with 18 winners under his belt, and Willie Mullins with 16. They will be pinning high hopes on one of the most successful Cheltenham jockeys, Ruby Walsh.
Meanwhile, a Cheltenham charity song, a parody of the 1964 Petula Clarke hit Downtown, has been released, with the sales benefiting four racing charities, the Bob Champion Cancer Trust, Riding for the Disabled, Racing Welfare and the Rehabilitation Hospital in Ireland.