Leopardstown admits 'difficult' Saturday for racegoers after long queues at bars

Leopardstown's racing and operations manager Jane Hedley has acknowledged the track could have provided a better experience for racegoers on the Saturday of the Dublin Racing Festival.

A lack of staff meant long queues were commonplace and, in some cases, bars and restaurants ran out of supplies causing frustration for the 12,957 in attendance.

Leopardstown uses the same catering service as the Aviva Stadium and, with Ireland facing Wales on Saturday in the Six Nations, Hedley said the agency responsible for staffing prioritised the rugby over the racing.

The issue was raised in a meeting between management at Leopardstown after racing on Saturday and, according to Hedley, the service provided to racegoers on Sunday was much better for the 11,972 who came through the gates.

She said: "There is no doubt that Saturday was a very, very difficult day for us. Anyone who has ever run a racecourse will know that, on your first day of the season, there are always teething problems. For us to have our first day with crowds in over two years and go straight into a near capacity crowd was difficult.

"Many of the staff were out of practice, plus, the agency sent a lot of staff to the Aviva on Saturday as well. That was difficult, for sure. But Sunday was much, much better."

Jane Hedley: 'There were silly things to let us down'Credit: Edward Whitaker

She added: "We had a much better team on Sunday and the feedback was night and day compared to Saturday. There were silly things to let us down. We had a big meeting after racing on Saturday and we did what we could do to make it better for Sunday. Largely, we got there and we were delighted."

Hedley was happy with the going produced by clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer and staff at Leopardstown after the track had come in for criticism for producing inappropriate ground at some of its flagship jumps meetings, including when day two of the 2020 DRF was hit by withdrawals.

Henry de Bromhead commended the track officials on the job they had done after Honeysuckle's victory on Sunday, and Hedley said: "We were absolutely delighted we got the ground where it needed to be. Off the back of such a dry autumn and such a dry January, the fact we managed to get it there should hopefully give everybody confidence. We know what to do now and it is achievable and there won't be ground quicker than that in future."

She added: "Willie Gibbons and Lorcan Wyer were on the front foot and really pulled out all the stops. It's been a tough couple of years for them but they got on with it and got the ground to where it needed to be. Given they achieved that in the toughest possible conditions, with no rain to help us at all, I think that should give everybody a lot of confidence.

"Logistically, it's a huge challenge, with the amount of pipe work that needs to be dragged around the place. Certain parts of the track take it better than others. It's not just a case of driving around in circles whacking water on; it's a very skilled operation."

Betting turnover across the two days was estimated to be slightly up on 2020 levels at €1,923,488 (from €1,917,531) despite there being 1,545 less in attendance than two years ago across the weekend.

Saturday's action saw €993,271 in turnover (down from €1,017,732 in 2020), while Sunday's action was ahead of pre-pandemic levels at €930,217 (from €899,467 in 2020).

Bookmaker Brian Keenan said: "The weather was cold and the rugby was on during Saturday's card, but thankfully we were busy. It was almost our first test post-Covid and I think it was passed with flying colours.

"From a betting point of view, the Irish Champion Hurdle was mainly a watching brief, so with that in mind it's great that turnover has held up. Birchdale was our worst result on Sunday but we'll take it on the chin. It was just great to be back after a long road."

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