Crowds for Irish Champions Weekend and Listowel to be confirmed on Thursday

Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh hailed a "positive day" of negotiations on Wednesday over how many people would be allowed to attend Irish Champions Weekend and the Listowel harvest festival and expects to know the final numbers on Thursday.

While the situation was still unclear on Wednesday night, Kavanagh told the Racing Post: "We will finalise details for Irish Champions Weekend and the Listowel harvest festival on Thursday. It was a positive day overall and there is plenty to look forward to."

The All-Ireland football final between Mayo and Tyrone will be played at Croke Park on the same day as the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the GAA revealed on Wednesday that 41,150, half the capacity of the stadium, will be in attendance.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced details of the government's reopening plan for Ireland on Tuesday and from October 22 all restrictions are set to be lifted and full crowds will be back on Irish racecourses, provided there is not a rapid increase in Covid cases.

Before then, though, Irish Champions Weekend and Listowel are key events in the Irish racing calendar.

Aidan O'Brien: 'For the future of racing it's very important that crowds are back'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Aidan O'Brien believes the return of big crowds is crucial for racing.

O'Brien said: "It's vital we get crowds back. It provides a great atmosphere and great interest. It's very important. When you go racing and there's a crowd it's a totally different atmosphere for everybody – the horses, the jockeys, the owners, the trainers.

"That's what racing is all about. It has to be a spectacle. It has to be a place where people want to go and, when they do go, they have to enjoy it. For the future of racing it's very important that crowds are back and hopefully they will be very soon."

Reflecting on his experience at York's Ebor festival, O'Brien added: "It was quite a shock actually when I heard the crowds. You had almost forgotten what it was like after the last year and a half over here.

"Every time we've been at the races over here it's been like a schooling day or a working day for the horses. The noise and energy that a crowd can drum up and add to a day is just incredible really."

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