BRIAN Kavanagh, interviewed by Robert Hall on RTÉ on Wednesday, expressed his satisfaction and took encouragement from the half yearly HRI racecourse attendance figures that saw an 8.8% increase in total attendance and an increase of over 6% in the average.

If things were improving, it’s surprising that Galway’s figures for the early part of the week were not a bit better. An increase of 203 on Monday, down 636 on Tuesday and down again by 291 on Wednesday, Plate day and surprisingly down by 2,640 on Thursday.