Records of organised race meetings in County Galway go back to the mid thirteenth century, when what were known as horse matches were run under King’s Plate Articles. In 1764 there was a five-day race meeting at Knockbarron near Loughrea; and exactly 100 years later a Western Plate was confined to “gentlemen riders qualified for National Hunt Races at Punchestown or members of the County Galway Hunt”.

Broadcasting of races commenced in 1929, and in that year, the Curragh Derby and Galway Plate were broadcast, and television arrived in 1963. Sponsorship came in 1959 and racing was extended to a three-day meeting, and an Autumn Race Meeting was introduced in 1969. The Summer Festival Meeting was extended to four days in 1971 and, in the fall of the same year, a major development commenced. This scheme consisted of erecting a new stand to accommodate 6,000 people and a new administration building which contains offices, weighroom, jockeys’ rooms and ambulance room. The Summer Festival Meeting was extended to five days in 1974 when Friday Racing was introduced. When the Summer Festival Meeting was increased to six days, by taking in Saturday, Galway became the racecourse with the greatest number of days in any one meeting. In 1999, Galway Races was extended to a seven-day festival with the addition of Sunday racing. The September Meeting which was extended to two days in 1970, was further extended to three days in 1979.

In over one hundred years of racing at Ballybrit, the tributes paid to Lord St. Lawrence, the man who started it all, and the optimism expressed in local newspapers appear to have been deserved and well-founded. Galway Races have gone from strength to strength. Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit, Galway Telephone: +353 91 753870 Fax: +353 91 752592 Web: http://www.galwayraces.com/