Dublin Racing Festival tickets effectively sold out as track craves crowd boost

Leopardstown has stopped selling tickets for next month's Dublin Racing Festival as the track's chief executive Tim Husbands prepares for what is effectively a sell-out crowd if current Irish government restrictions remain in place.

Officials are working on the basis of a cap of 5,000 spectators for each day of the weekend fixture, although there is reportedly optimism in political circles that Ireland could be set for a significant easing of Covid-19 restrictions in early February.

A meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) next Thursday is expected to prove key to such a move.

Leopardstown's Dublin Racing Festival kicks off on February 5, the same day as Ireland's opening Six Nations rugby clash against Wales in the city's Aviva Stadium.

Leopardstown: set to welcome back racegoers after hosting action behind closed doors last monthCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Whether officials will wait to ease restrictions on sporting events until after these major attractions remains to be seen.

Husbands says the Dublin venue would relish the chance to welcome more racegoers back to the track, especially after its popular Christmas festival went behind closed doors at the 11th hour.

"The reason for not selling tickets is that we're very near capacity and want to give a little bit more time to see whether there are any alterations over the next two to three weeks," said Husbands.

"For all intents and purposes, all of the tickets are already sold, based on a capacity of 5,000."

He added: "We'd like to keep the door open to see if we get a bit more flexibility. We'd love to be able to get a few more people in but it's all circumspect at the moment.

"We have the Christmas experience behind us, so if we could get 5,000 here we'd be only too delighted."

With no British-trained runners at last year's Dublin Racing Festival, Husbands is pleased at the presence of potential raiders among the Grade 1 entries.

Dublin Racing Festival: key Grade 1 entries plus a long-range tip

Husbands said: "It's fantastic to see some British-trained horses in the Grade 1 races. The quality across all the entries revealed on Thursday is superb. It's great to see the level of interest there and we welcome the support of British and Irish trainers for the meeting."

RTE viewing figures for Leopardstown's four-day Christmas festival were described as "very strong" by Husbands.

The RTE Racing team of Ruby Walsh, Hugh Cahill and Jane ManganCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

An average of 94,000 tuned into the December 26 coverage, down from 109,000 a year earlier, but the remaining three days all saw increases from 2020 levels both in terms of the average number of viewers and audience share percentage.

RTE action on December 27 saw an average of 108,000 viewers (up from 96,000 in 2020) and 110,000 tuned in for each of the final two days of the meeting (up from 107,000 and 69,000 in 2020).

The final three days saw audience shares of 17 per cent, 18 per cent and 20 per cent, while in 2020 no single-day share was higher than 15 per cent.

"I'm greatly encouraged by the figures," said Husbands.

"December 26 didn't quite hit the same level as previously but for a four-day festival those figures were very strong and indicate the interest levels in Irish racing."

On the process of Christmas festival ticket purchasers being reimbursed, Husbands added: "As we indicated at the time, it will be a 28-day period while we work with our different agents."

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