'100 per cent the right call' - Leopardstown chief defends Christmas crowds move

Leopardstown's chief executive Tim Husbands has defended the decision to run its Christmas festival behind closed doors and said the move also protected the integrity of racing over the festive period.

Husbands made the controversial call on Christmas Eve to stop the public from attending the four-day festival due to a lack of staff, despite government guidelines allowing up to 5,000 to attend, and he remained adamant it was the right decision.

Husbands said: "It was 100 per cent the right call. I have absolutely no doubts about that at all. We had no alternative. The cases were rising rapidly, both nationally and locally, and we had no option. It was definitely the right call and one which protected the integrity of racing."

When asked how many staff he was without, Husbands replied: "We would normally have in or around 80 working at a Christmas festival, but we were down to 25 being available to us. As regards our core staff based here at Leopardstown, we were reduced to six from 16.

"Every avenue was explored and we had a lot of support from HRI and other racecourses with regard to staffing, but we didn't have time on our side. It was not until the Tuesday and Wednesday of the week before Christmas when the staffing issue began to get really serious. It was a shame what happened but we had no alternative but to do what we did."

He added: "We had very effective communication in place and not one racegoer showed up on any day without knowing what had happened. We sent a text to every single person who had purchased a ticket to inform them of the news.

"The money they had paid was refunded directly to them and everybody will be refunded within 28 days. It is our biggest and most commercial festival of the year, so it was a big blow financially and certainly not an ideal scenario."

Tim Husbands 'lives in hope' crowds will be the same as 2019 at the DRFCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Reflecting on the four days of action at Leopardstown, Husbands said the victory of Galvin in the Savills Chase was his own personal highlight.

He said: "I thought it was a brilliant festival and I would like to thank the industry as a whole for their support. The racing itself was top class and the highlight for me was seeing Galvin win the Savills Chase.

"It was fantastic to see such energy and enthusiasm from Davy Russell with the owners afterwards. I'd say it was brilliant for everyone watching on TV."

Husbands' attention now switches to the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on February 5 and 6 for which he "lives in hope" that crowds will be allowed to see the action unfold.

Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have already spoken of their ground concerns for the star names on that weekend, but Husbands has assured them the ground will be safe and everything will be done to ensure excellent conditions.

Grounds for concern as Mullins and Elliott go cold on Dublin Racing Festival (Members' Club)

Husbands said: "We had four days of excellent ground for Christmas and we will have excellent ground for the Dublin Racing Festival as well.

"We have been watering on and off for the last two to three months to ensure a decent cushion and we will continue to do so ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival. The guys on the track do a great job and I have every faith in them."

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