Should the Irish Derby be held at the Curragh during redevelopment?

It is the debate that has raged for months: should the Curragh be allowed to host the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby while the track is undergoing one of the biggest redevelopments in the history of Irish racing?

A crowd of 18,244 witnessed Harzand fend off Idaho in last year's Irish Derby, but that figure was down more than 7,000 on the 2015 attendance of 25,255.

Now, due to the ongoing refurbishment, the crowd has been capped at just 6,000 on Saturday and tickets have long sold out.

Curragh chief Derek McGrath has warned those who want to witness the highlight of the Irish Flat season not to turn up if they do not have a ticket. They will be refused entry, he stressed.

Is this a good advertisement for Irish racing? Does the Curragh have the necessary facilities to host such a huge event at present? Is the track at the Curragh so much better than any other in Ireland that it outweighs the negatives?

Up-and-coming trainer Michael O'Callaghan and Horse Racing Ireland CEO Brian Kavanagh have very different views on the matter.

AGAINST

Michael O'Callaghan, trainer

If the decision were mine, I would have moved racing away from the Curragh while it's being redeveloped. I would have explored different options.

I do understand it was a very difficult decision and, no matter what they decided, they would have come in for criticism. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was never going to be cut and dried.

However, it seems to me that the public are now an optional extra. That's simply not good enough. Was every possible avenue explored? I don't think so. We should not be turning people away who want to come racing.

The purists wants the Derby to be run at the same course all the time but that argument is only okay in my book. Chantilly is being used while Longchamp is being redeveloped and even Royal Ascot moved to York. We just have a backward mindset in Ireland and that has been the downfall of Irish racing over the years.

Michael O'Callaghan: 'Open up the infield, charge €5 to get in and have tents with drink and food available'Credit: Patrick McCann

Surely we could have taken a leaf out of the book from years gone by and opened up the middle of the track to allow more people to come to the Derby. That's what I would have done if the Irish Derby was staying at the Curragh.

Open up the infield, charge €5 to get in and have tents with drink and food available and some bookmakers as well. Surely that could have been done with planning? There are corporate tents in the middle of the track for Irish Derby day for the last couple of years any way.

We simply cannot be turning people away. Either move the Irish Derby somewhere else, or open up the middle of the track. They would have been the two best options.

FOR

Brian Kavanagh, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland

I genuinely think the decision to keep the Irish Derby at the Curragh, while the most exciting development we have seen for a long time in Irish racing is taking place, was the right call and I fully support it.

You have to think of the tradition and history that is involved here. Take for example the Railway Stakes, that race has been run at the on the exact same track since 1848.

The Derby weekend programme was not easy to replicate at Leopardstown. Where do you run the 5f and 6f sprints? Where do you run the 30-runner handicaps? It is not just a case of saying bring bring everything to Leopardstown.

The debate over whether racing should be taking place at the Curragh or not has actually seen the track itself come in for more praise than every before. It is a fantastic racetrack that has earned recognition all over the world.

Brian Kavanagh: 'The decision we took to continue racing at the Curragh made sense'Credit: Caroline Norris

The minute the Derby at Epsom was over, John Gosden said he wanted to come to the Curragh with Cracksman. It was a similar story with Andre Fabre after Waldgeist ran in the French Derby. Trainers want to run their best horses at the Curragh.

The Curragh has been starved of capital development over the years and we always knew it was not going to be a small makeover.

We weighed up the various options and the decision we took to continue racing at the Curragh made sense.

I know that 2,000 Guineas day was tough with the weather but there has been a nice atmosphere there on other days this year and I think the Curragh has done a great job in offering the best possible facilities they can in the circumstances.