Ireland's investment in Olympic sports has paid rich dividends - but can we say the same for racing?
Last week's Galway festival encountered an unenviable clash with the greatest seven days in Ireland's sporting history, an unprecedented medal-a-day haul during the opening week of the Olympics, with Kellie Harrington's putative bronze of last Wednesday transformed into a glorious gold late on Tuesday night.
By Team GB standards, Ireland's Olympics achievements may seem modest. However, in terms of population size and viewed in a historical context, the 2024 squad has punched above its weight in the same fashion we have often done in the less globally significant sport of horseracing.
Medals in swimming, rowing, boxing and gymnastics are testaments to successful high-performance programmes that have benefited from state funding, extensive and well targeted without being outstandingly lavish.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inAlan Sweetman
Last updated
Copy- City Of Troy stands on the brink of something truly extraordinary - not that you'd know it from the wider sporting media
- Did racing really need another Ballydoyle benefit? It's time to pull the plug on the big-value Irish Cesarewitch
- Ireland v Britain: it's almost a score draw as the curtain comes down on Irish Group 1 programme
- Shark Hanlon ruling might have divided social media - but legal heavyweights add real substance to these decisions
- The Racing League has its strengths - but the ludicrous approach to regional teams simply has to go
- City Of Troy stands on the brink of something truly extraordinary - not that you'd know it from the wider sporting media
- Did racing really need another Ballydoyle benefit? It's time to pull the plug on the big-value Irish Cesarewitch
- Ireland v Britain: it's almost a score draw as the curtain comes down on Irish Group 1 programme
- Shark Hanlon ruling might have divided social media - but legal heavyweights add real substance to these decisions
- The Racing League has its strengths - but the ludicrous approach to regional teams simply has to go