THIS day last week brought with it the news that the Curragh chief executive Derek McGrath was to step down from his role at the end of the season.

This marked the latest chapter in what has been a tumultuous period in the track’s redevelopment and follows hot on the heels of the Irish Derby Festival where the inability of the new facility to cope with a crowd of just under 12,000 became the focus of the weekend rather than what took place out on the track.