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Galway races... when did it get so boring??

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    #32
    Head The Wall
    Registered Users Posts: 2,892 ✭✭✭Head The Wall


    jadewinters_182446t.jpg


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    #33
    schween
    Registered Users Posts: 444 ✭✭schween


    I know exactly what your talking about OP.

    I used to go to the races as a child and loved it. The bumper cars, the octopus ride, candy floss, going around all the stalls... it was great.

    What has happened to the centre of the course is sad. It's nothing like what it used to be. The mighty Celtic Tiger changed it all. Instead of the serious bettors and hotshots going into the enclosure, everyone likes to think they're a hot shot for the day now, even the kids in suits and sunglasses!

    By the way saying since it's free we can't complain it's all but gone is silly. Picture the Volvo Ocean Race without a stage, stalls etc. Just because it's free doesn't mean we can't complain.


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    #34
    Bob_Harris
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,619 ✭✭✭Bob_Harris


    schween wrote: »
    Just because it's free doesn't mean we can't complain.

    Funny how as the country got richer the things that were once free started to die out. Somewhat of a paradox.


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    #35
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 5,121 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    As a child I went to the races for the amusements - I could see horses any day of the week.

    I guess they needed more space for helicopter parking.


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    #36
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,714 ✭ [Deleted User]


    OP if you want amusements go back to Salthill or some other place with rides and people selling junk. If you want to see horse racing then go to ballybrit and pay the few quid to get into the enclosure.


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    #37
    cson
    Registered Users Posts: 14,466 ✭✭✭✭cson


    Deleted User wrote: »
    As a child I went to the races for the amusements - I could see horses any day of the week.

    I guess they needed more space for helicopter parking.

    There was 1 helicopter parked there for the Thursday. Maybe another one or two taking off before and after. It really was incredible how much that has changed - if the helicopter index is evidence of how bad things are in Ireland then were fooked! :eek:

    I was there Thursday 2008 and then this year and I'll tell you the difference in crowds/betting/drinks&food being bought is something else.


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    #38
    pleasant Co.
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 7,401 Mod ✭✭✭✭pleasant Co.


    Avalynn Panicky Bearded wrote: »
    OP if you want amusements go back to Salthill or some other place with rides and people selling junk. If you want to see horse racing then go to ballybrit and pay the few quid to get into the enclosure.

    Surely people don't go to the galway races for the horse racing :pac:


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    #39
    BESman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 563 ✭✭✭BESman


    Tickets were €30, not €35.

    The stands were full of girls aged between 12 and 16. I thought it was a bit odd, never noticed that before. When I was a teenager at the races it appeared to be full of adults and real ladies, not teenage girls stumbling about the place with Smirnoff ice bottles. Maybe the lack of amusements has forced younger people into the stand so OP might have a point here.


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    #40
    Head The Wall
    Registered Users Posts: 2,892 ✭✭✭Head The Wall


    That's not why they are there, it's the vanity thing. Sad people believe that if they get dressed up and look good (in their eyes) that it will then cheer them up. They will end up getting rotten drunk, taking a load of drugs and wake up in a field in the morning or the side of a road :D


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    #41
    kippy
    Registered Users Posts: 18,588 ✭✭✭✭kippy


    cson wrote: »
    There was 1 helicopter parked there for the Thursday. Maybe another one or two taking off before and after. It really was incredible how much that has changed - if the helicopter index is evidence of how bad things are in Ireland then were fooked! :eek:

    I was there Thursday 2008 and then this year and I'll tell you the difference in crowds/betting/drinks&food being bought is something else.

    The helicopter index reduction was really noticible all week from the peak of 2 years ago. No more "flashy" money in the country. Everyone is hiding from NAMA.


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    #42
    Lapin
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,184 ✭✭✭✭Lapin


    Greaney wrote: »
    The entry fee to the stand is €35 per person today, that's more than a family priced ticket to Terryland (two adults three kids), and that's before you've gotten anything

    You're not really comparing like with like there.
    The racecourse at Ballybrit and its facilities compare favourably to many of the top tracks in the world. And race week the premier racing festival in this country by a long shot.

    No offence to Terryland, fine ground that it is, its no Old Trafford.

    Although fair play to Galway United for their family friendly price structures.


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    #43
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,966 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Lapin wrote: »
    The racecourse at Ballybrit and its facilities compare favourably to many of the top tracks in the world.

    I can't comment on the facilities. But I don't think I agree with you about the course.


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    #44
    Lapin
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 18,184 ✭✭✭✭Lapin


    JustMary wrote: »
    I can't comment on the facilities. But I don't think I agree with you about the course.

    Its true that the track itself is nothing special.
    Very tight circut with no decent run-in for flat horses.

    Altough the Moneen Dip and climb to the post is a good
    test for National Hunt racers.

    Punchestown and Fairyhouse offer more consistant challenges for National Hunt competitors while The Curragh and Leopardstown are the playgrounds for flat racing in Ireland.

    Galway is more about the sense of occasion, rather than the quality of racing to be seen.

    And I think the lack of a carnival atmosphere rather than the quality of racing was what the OP was alluding to.


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