Listowel may get racing dates if Limerick sells

September 1991

LISTOWEL may be set to acquire an extra eleven dates on the Irish racing calendar - including four dates at Christmas — in time for the 1993 racing season, it emerged this week.

As the North Kerry town reaped the benefits of yet another successful meeting, with crowds considerably up on the previous year, Listowel Race Company secretary Brendan Daly confirmed that Listowel is interested in acquiring the dates, which are rumoured to be up for grabs if the sale of Limerick Race course goes ahead.

It is understood that the Limerick Race Course at Greenpark is for sale, although the company secretary was unavailable to confirm this at the time of going to press.

“Nothing official has happened as of yet, but when applications are invited we will definitely be interested,” Mr Daly told The Kerryman.

“Limerick has four dates at Christmas as well as three dates around St Patrick’s Day, and these would be considered plum dates. It would be very much in our favour if we could acquire them, since we have just one week in the year at the moment.”

Paddy Walsh of the Irish Racing Board said that while Limerick was definitely on the calendar for 1992, the position for the following year was not yet clear.

It is possible that the Limerick Race Company will buy an alternative site in Limerick and hold the meetings there,’ but there is also a likelihood that the eleven dates allocated annually to Limerick will be distributed to other race courses, he said.

If the dates are up for grabs among the other racecourses, a number of factors will have to be taken into consideration before a decision is made. “We will have to consider things such as the quality of the local management and their success in sponsorship, as well as the geographical location and the size of crowds they are capable of supporting,” said Mr Walsh.

Meanwhile Brendan Daly said that the Listowel Race Company was thrilled with this year’s meeting, despite a drop in the tote aggregate on Tuesday of £10,000.