'We took a lot more euros from the Irish this year' - mixed feedback on Royal Ascot from on-course bookmakers

Irish bookmaker Ray Mulvaney, who has the coveted pitch one slot at Royal Ascot, said his turnover at last week's royal meeting exceeded his takings for the Cheltenham Festival. 

Mulvaney, who also has pitch nine at the track, said his turnover last week was up on 2023 and the most noticeable trend was the number of Irish punters betting with him. 

Mulvaney said: "I thought trade was good and I was slightly up on turnover compared to last year. My dockets were up too. Friday and Saturday were very good and the thing I noticed most was that there were a lot more Irish people betting with me. There are more and more Irish people going to that week as each year goes by. There were a lot of people betting in euros with me.