THERE is a rationale for racing on through the redevelopment, of course. There are points in favour.

There is the history of the place for starters, the fact that the Curragh is the home of the Irish Derby, the home of all the Irish classics, that they have been running the Irish Derby over the plains there since Queen Victoria was a lass.

And there is the track, fair and galloping, a true thoroughbred’s test, the best racecourse in the world some say.

Also, it was notable during the week that both Andre Fabre and John Gosden, trainers of Waldgeist and Cracksman respectively, cited the Curragh, the track, as a factor in their decision to come.

They may have come anyway if the race was set to be staged at another track, but they may not have. And without those two, today’s Irish Derby would be a seven-horse race with one trainer fielding five of the seven.

There is the fact that we have known for a long time that they would race on through the redevelopment, pretty much since plans for this redevelopment were first announced.

And there are the logistics: where would you run the five-furlong and six-furlong handicaps?

There is also the fact that the Curragh were unlucky with the weather on Irish 2000 Guineas day, the first day on which the temporary facilities were truly tested. It rained for Ireland that day. It wasn’t a fair test. It would have been miserable at a snooker tournament in that weather.

However, the underlying fact is that, today, Irish racing has to ask probably between 12,000 and 15,000 would-be racegoers to stay away on what is traditionally one of the biggest days on the Irish racing calendar, and that really should trump all.