NO good deed goes unpunished, they say, and that was the case at the Curragh on Saturday.

The on-course bookmakers sponsored the gate for the Group 1 raceday and over 5,000 racegoers took advantage of the free admission.

A great success, you might think, until you check the results and see that every race bar one was won by the favourite or second favourite.

Ray Mulvaney, chairman of the Irish National Professional Bookmakers Association, was able to laugh it off.

“The results were terrible for us but we were delighted with the turnout. We are rolling out different initiatives at racecourses all over the country, be it matched bets, punters’ packages or free admission. We will work with any racecourse manager on anything that encourages people to go racing.”

Acknowledging that free admission can’t be sponsored every day, Mulvaney is a big fan of the initiative. “Connolly’s Red Mills started it by sponsoring the gate for their day at Gowran Park in February two years ago. That was always a good day and now it’s a huge day.

“The Tote did it at Punchestown for New Year’s Eve and then Ballyhane Stud did at Naas last week. It’s bringing people in and, even if they are not all punters, there is definitely something in it. A lot of those people will come back again and a crowd draws more people in. It’s good for the track, the local community and racing in general.”