PUNCHESTOWN’S good luck with the weather may run out today but there is no denying that the 2026 Festival has been another very successful one.

Attendances and betting figures for Tuesday were well up on last year. Wednesday saw a significant increase in crowd numbers and Tote betting, while Thursday saw slight declines.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s card, Punchestown CEO Conor O’Neill said: “Without wishing to jinx it, it’s been a very smooth and successful Festival right across the board. I’m certainly delighted with it.”

Although the attendance numbers registered an increase on Tuesday and Wednesday, they dipped on Thursday, making it unlikely that the track will match last year’s five-day total of 136,000 when the gates close this evening.

“It’s going to be very hard, I would think, to match the Friday crowd of last year, when we had both glorious sunshine and Constitution Hill. But we’d hope to go close.

“The thing I am most pleased about this week has been the track itself. The groundstaff have done a tremendous job. They couldn’t have done any more. There has been nothing but compliments about the ground this week.”

Some racegoers experienced long delays leaving the car parks on Wednesday, but O’Neill was not aware of any reason for it. “I know there was an accident off down the road somewhere at one point, but Friday will test the traffic. Being honest with you, it’s all been extremely smooth and it’s a credit to the team here and to everyone involved. We’re very appreciative of all those who continue to come and support us year after year.”

The first three days produced just one British-trained winner, compared to six for the same period last year.

Winners have been hard to find for punters. The first 24 races produced just six winning favourites and the average SP of the winners was over 9/1.

Ray Mulvaney, chairman of the Irish National Professional Bookmakers Association, said: “I’m happy enough with the week so far. We got some good results. I felt it was a bit flat on Thursday.

“Even though we won a few quid on the day, there did not seem to be a buzz about the place. But there will be a younger crowd coming on Friday, and it’s Ladies’ Day, so it will probably pick up again.”

The on-course bookmakers have a good relationship with O’Neill, who is a former betting ring employee himself. However, the layers were disappointed by Punchestown’s decision to deny bookmakers access to premium areas of the racecourse this week. O’Neill said it was “a commercial decision” and Mulvaney was not inclined to discuss the matter publicly.

Representatives of the racehorse owners and trainers associations said they had received no complaints from their members regarding Punchestown facilities this week.