Galway again lives up to expectations

The Galway festival will have a new face for 1999, but the old one is still more than presentable after yet another record breaking week.

Work begins almost immediately on demolishing the Corrib stand and there will be a £6 million replacement next year. It will be in place to cope with Ireland's only seven-day meeting, as Galway will also race on the Sunday next term.

The programme for the seventh day has not been finalised but a typical Galway mixed card is envisaged.

In the meantime, this year's Galway again fulfilled its function as something of a payroll for the rest of Irish racing, with almost £10 million being bet over the week.

For the first time at a festival, the Tote turnover passed the £3 million mark, the aggregate reaching £3,091729. A total of £748,197 was wagered with the Tote on the Thursday alone.

A massive £6,895,549 was turned over by the bookmakers, which was an increase of £743,656 on 1997. For the bookmakers also, Galway Hurdle day was the jewel in the crown, £1,509,201 being handled by them. The attendance of almost 29,000 on Thursday was also a record.

On the racing side, Dermot Weld equalled his tally of 10 winners which he set previously in 1993 and 1994; while Amlah's historic Galway Plate win is likely to encourage yet another angle to the Galway festival, with an even greater number of British-trained horses travelling to Ballybrit.