The first horse-racing course to be built in the State in almost half a century is nearing completion at Patrickswell, outside Limerick.
The £11 million project involved the building of a 14 ft wide all-weather 11-furlong gallop, planted last year with a variety of grass-seed which puts down a strong root.
Ms Colette Henchy, manager of the old course at Greenpark, in the city, says race meetings have been held there from the 1860s up to 1999. She says the new course, built four miles outside the city, will be "on a par" with Punchestown, Leopards town and Galway. "It will have a better track than anyone else in the south and better buildings."
The last course to be built on a greenfield site in the State was in Wexford, completed in 1951. Mr Mark McMahon, chairman of the Limerick Race Company, says that about 40 per cent of the funding has come from the Irish Horseracing Authority, which will operate the on-course Tote.
The original 450-acre site at Greenmount was bought in 1994 for £1.27 million by Mr Hugh McMahon, father of the present chairman, in whose memory the new stand is being named. Funding for the building project will come also from the proceeds of the sale of part of the old course for housing.
Mr McMahon expects Greenmount to have its first outing on October 15th, when the Munster National meeting is held. It is a good time for the horse-racing industry following the abolition of the 10 per cent on-course betting tax last year. Nationally, attendance was up at race tracks by 7.4 per cent, reaching 1.3 million, and oncourse betting increased by 15 per cent.
The building project began two years ago, but the idea had been there since the early 1990s because of the flooding problems at Greenpark. "We closed the track last year, at the end of March. But prior to that, we had lost most of the three previous Christmas fixtures due to the weather," Mr McMahon said.
Attracting the important 2535 age group also required a high standard of facilities, while traffic congestion was a growing problem at the old course. In contrast, the new course will be situated just off the Southern Bypass, the new ring road around Limerick connecting the Dublin road with the Cork road.
Greenmount will also have a 50,000 sq ft grandstand, with bar and restaurant facilities. Up to 6,000 people will be accommodated in the grandstand. A point-to-point track has also been built as training centre for a county which has a tradition of horse-breeding and includes such trainers as Michael Hourigan, Enda Bulger, Andrew McNamara and Eric McNamara.
Tracks are categorised by the Turf Club as ranging from grade 1 to 3 for National Hunt and flat racing. Greenmount will get a grade 1 rating for both, putting it among the top five courses in the State. "That was another reason for moving out. We were never going to get the grading for our track improved," Mr McMahon said. "On the flat, we were grade 3."
The old racecourse had nine fixtures annually, or "nine days to make money in the whole year". The new track will open with 16 fixtures a year, but the owners hope this will increase to a regular 20. "In winter we will be able to have the traditional fixtures we always had, and we have two fixtures around St Patrick's Day. In the summer, we will have flat racing," Mr McMahon said.
"When we have grade 1 status, we will also attract the better horses. Because the grade is higher, you get better races which should attract better money and better sponsorship."
Like other venues, the facility can also be used as a conference centre or to hold such events as home improvement, motor and flower shows.