Next Sunday’s €1.25 million Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will be the centrepiece of another bumper nine-race card and Curragh officials insist such marathon programmes are not an issue for racegoers.
Last year, Irish racing’s HQ hosted the first nine-race meeting in modern times to facilitate the lucrative Tote World Pool betting.
The Curragh first hosted the pool run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2023, when it prompted the Derby date to be switched to Sunday for the first time in 14 years.
Almost €30 million in global betting turnover was generated on the Curragh action in 2023. Sunday’s action could end up being worth up to €700,000 for the Tote here, as well as the Curragh and Horse Racing Ireland.
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Last month’s Guineas festival at the Curragh was part of the pool for the first time and also saw a nine-race programme for 2,000 Guineas day.
It prompted some complaints about the length of the card, while there was also disquiet at Epsom earlier this month when Derby day there was included on the World Pool and led to an eight-race card.
The pool is the biggest co-mingled market in world racing and operated at Royal Ascot last week. The Irish Champions Festival in September is also included in it.
The Curragh’s Derby festival kicks off on Friday and once more, a €100,000 handicap has been added to Sunday to make it nine races.
Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of the Curragh, said he wasn’t aware of criticism relating to the length of the programme at last year’s Derby or at last month’s 2,000 Guineas.
“I think the big days are days when people are here for a day out,” he said on Sunday. “We’ve had days when, at the finish, people are looking for more races.
“It has worked fine. It’s a chance to put on a €100,000 handicap as an extra race for three-year-olds, which was run for the first time on Derby day last year. Hopefully it will generate plenty of interest and activity."
Part of the commentary at Epsom last month revolved around a lack of quality in some of the contests that backed up the big race. Kavanagh said that won’t be the case this coming Sunday.
Horse Racing Ireland put the fixture list together; that’s not just our call
— Brian Kavanagh
“These are all premier handicaps, very competitive races, backed up by a number of Listed races and obviously the Derby, the feature race itself,” said the Curragh boss.
“I think people come for the day and whether they stay for all the races or some races is a matter for themselves. It’s a good opportunity to put another high-value race and Hong Kong, the World Pool, will take nine races if we put them on. That’s the logic to it.”
Ticket pricing for the Irish Derby has also come under the spotlight in recent years, nominated sometimes as a contributory factor to underwhelming attendance figures for Ireland’s premier classic.
An official figure of 11,418 was returned for Derby day last year. The capacity in the grandstand alone is 13,000.
Kavanagh pointed out that the entry cost for Sunday’s action is €35, providing people buy their tickets online up to Friday. He says this is “very good value”. After the Friday cut-off, tickets increase to €45.
He also confirmed that officials will look at reducing next year’s Guineas festival to two days and losing the Friday evening card. However, a similar move in relation to the Derby festival won’t be considered.
“Horse Racing Ireland put the fixture list together; that’s not just our call. We will look at that (Guineas festival) for next year,” he said. “But three days is well established for the Derby. The Friday for the Guineas was added just before or just after Covid. The Derby has been three days for more than 20 years, so I doubt that will change.”
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An unsettled weather outlook for the week ahead could prove an important factor in deciding likely opposition to the Epsom Derby winner Lambourn on Sunday.
Aidan O’Brien’s star is odds-on in most betting lists ahead of Tuesday’s latest acceptance stage where supplementary entries can be made.
However, some ease in the going could make the Curragh a possible option for the Epsom runner Lazy Griff. The Dante winner Pride Of Arras failed to act around Epsom and is another potential cross-channel contender.
