Friday fixtures to be reduced at the Curragh next year after poor attendances

There will be fewer fixtures staged at the Curragh on Friday nights next year after racecourse manager Pat Keogh admitted he was "not happy with attendances".

Speaking on the eve of the last of seven Friday fixtures at the Curragh, Keogh said: "I haven't given up on the idea of Friday evening racing at the Curragh and, if something is worth trying, it is worth trying more than once.

"We need to get the audience from the local areas around Kildare back. It is common knowledge by now that I'm not happy with attendances at the Curragh.

"We have four Friday evening fixtures in August this year, but that will be reduced to two in 2019. We are not throwing away the idea altogether but we are not going to put all of our eggs in the Friday night basket."

Keogh feels traffic congestion and the track's late arrival into the concert market may have been to blame for the poor Friday turnouts, as well as bad weather.

He added: "There are some negative aspects to Friday evening racing at the Curragh and it is certainly challenging for people coming from Dublin through traffic on a Friday.

Pat Keogh: 'Before too long, we'd like to see owners back.'Credit: Alain Barr (racingpost.com/photos)

"The Curragh is also a bit late into the music market. The Bulmers Live series at Leopardstown is now in its tenth year and it has taken time for that to establish itself.

"It is now a case of people coming to Leopardstown for the racing and staying for the music, rather than the other way around. There are concerts at every crossroads now so just because the Curragh puts on music does not automatically mean that a crowd will come."

In 2020 there will be no Group 1s staged on a Friday evening. Only 3,661 attended the raceday featuring the Pretty Polly Stakes in June, while the crowd for the Phoenix Stakes card failed to hit the 3,000 mark.

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