ON Tuesday the Curragh will stage the final meeting of the 2019 season there, and the great news is that entry is free. This follows on from a similar experiment last weekend, and the racecourse CEO Pat Keogh was pleased with the response.

“Sunday was simply about bringing more people through the door to see first-hand the new Curragh. We wanted people to come and get their feedback. Conversation with all our stakeholders is really important to us as we have to know what the customer wants so that we can deliver it. We had a decent crowd, so it served that purpose really well,” he told me.

He added: “There was a lovely atmosphere here on Sunday for our Community Day. Plenty of people came to the Curragh for the first time and there were lots of families, which is great to see. It was a great day and we were blessed with the weather. We have made a number of changes over the past two months and they have been well received.

“Our priority has been to open the facility up as much as possible. There is much more accessibility now and that allows people to move more freely around the venue. It is a fine facility and it is important that people get around to see and enjoy it.”

The Leopardstown supremo was brought into the role this year and has settled in well. “I have really enjoyed coming to the Curragh. It is a wonderful modern facility that is steeped in history, a lovely combination. I have received a great welcome, am pleased to have a few meetings under my belt and am looking forward to 2020 already.

“We will be announcing a new membership structure for next year. It is important that we have a strong membership base as that is the backbone of any racecourse. We are looking at a few additional changes to create improved facilities for the customer. We also have a few changes to our racing schedule for next year. We intend having an open evening in November when we will announce our plans for next year.”

Keogh oversaw Champions Weekend at both Leopardstown and the Curragh, and he is pleased with how it went. “There was very positive feedback from both tracks after the Longines Irish Champions Weekend. It was great to see the Curragh break 10,000 in attendance which was important. The Pat Smullen Champions Race was a big draw and certainly added to the attendance. The atmosphere in the Curragh was great and for many people it was a celebration of the arrival of the new Curragh.”

The Curragh boss is keen to get former supporters back into the fold. He concluded: “I would ask them to please come back and give us a chance. We have a great team in the Curragh and their sole objective is to make it a racecourse that the people of Kildare can be proud of. We have worked hard to get the message out there and I think we have turned the corner.”

Sir,

I would just like to compliment the huge effort that has gone into racecourse catering in the past few weeks. There has been major improvements from many racecourses, with hot and healthy food on offer, and it has been greatly appreciated.

Gillian O’Loughlin, Dr Jennifer Pugh, Dr Adrian McGoldrick, Natalie Collins and individual racecourse managers have all played a part and deserve huge credit. Hopefully all racecourses can follow suit in the coming months as it really does make a difference.

Yours,

Patrick Mullins,

Closutton,

Co Carlow