GOOD weather, good racing and plenty of entertainment are among the reasons why Fairyhouse saw a rise in attendance last weekend, according to general manager John Sheridan.

The Easter Monday crowd of 18,753 was up 13% on last year. Sunday’s attendance (11,073) also saw a 9% increase on 2025, while the Easter Saturday crowd of 5,159 was slightly up on the previous year despite nasty weather this time around.

“We were hoping to beat last year’s total but I suppose we’ve managed to go a bit beyond that,” Sheridan said. Asked how Easter Monday manages such a young and lively crowd, Sheridan added: “I think it’s just built up over the last few years. It’s just a good day out.

“The weather played ball for us and we had a lot of people (over 4,000) buying tickets on the day. We’ve a specific area built for the younger demographic, the 18 to 25 bracket. Racing is the key part but the added entertainment is a big part of it too. We have the Festival Marquee and the Final Fence Marquee, with different bands playing in each one. Some of the bands have a big social media following that plays into it as well. The team here worked hard on it over the last couple of months.”

Sheridan and his team will review what worked well and where improvements can be made. He is aware of concerns around excessive drinking, WiFi availability and car parking.

“When you have nearly 19,000 people here, it’s hard to keep everybody happy,” he said. “We’re trying to do as much as we can, putting on different bar and food areas, additional toilets and security.

“Surveys have gone out to everybody who came to the races over the weekend and we’ve got some emails in from people with both negative and positive feedback, so we’re taking all those on board when we have our debrief session and it’s fresh in our minds.”

Looking ahead, Sheridan says Fairyhouse is considering a number of improvements to customer-facing facilities and horse-related facilities. “Some of the toilets in the older grandstand are in need of refreshment, and we’re just renovating the walkway where the horses move between the parade ring and the racecourse.”

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