Removal of reserved enclosure and earlier start times hailed big winners by Punchestown chief

The removal of the reserved enclosure and earlier start times on the first two days of last week's festival have been branded big winners by Punchestown chief executive Conor O'Neill, who also expressed his satisfaction with rising attendances for four of the five days. 

Another cause for celebration was on-course betting turnover, which was up by 9.3 per cent over the five days as almost €5.6 million was bet with the layers on track compared to €5.1m in 2023. 

The total overall attendance for the meeting was 118,318, down from 120,616 last year, but the reason for that was a sharp decline in the Saturday crowd which dropped from 32,208 to 25,396, primarily due to a wet and dreary morning which would have turned many off family fun day.