Sir, - I’m writing to complain about the rise in the cost of entry to Listowel Races this week for senior citizens.

On Kerry National day the general admission fee was €30, up from €25 in previous years. I’m a senior so was able to avail of the (miserly) fiver discount but that still meant I had to pay €25 which is very steep for OAPs. I’m not sure this is justified as the numbers attending on Wednesday were huge.

I was in Leopardstown the previous weekend where the charge was €35 but this included two Group 1 races. The OAP discount was €15, so I only had to pay €20, which is less than I paid this week to see essentially a Grade 3 race.

I’m aware market forces are at play here as National Hunt racing is much more popular than the flat in Ireland and the powers that be are trying to encourage patrons to support the flat more. However they will eventually kill the golden goose if they carry on charging like this.

I, for one, will watch next year’s races on TG4 so they will be down €25 at least. - Yours etc.,

Liam Kelleher

Limerick.