ANNUAL REPORT 2011 - Horse Racing Ireland

FairyhouseThe highlight of the calendar was the annual Grand NationalFestival which took place from 24th to 26th April. Attendancefor the 3 days was 27,083 compared to 24,159 in 2010. Thisrepresented a 12% increase over the festival. The highlightwas the Ladbrokes Irish Grand National, which this yearhad a great local story with Nina Carberry becoming thethird member of her family to score in the race on her uncleArthur Moore’s Organisedconfusion. The Grade 1 PowersGold Cup also provided a local story with Paul Carberry beingsuccessful aboard Realt Dubh.The Bar One Racing sponsored ‘Premier Jump RacingWeekend’ also attracted the cream of National Hunt stars,with Voler La Vedette, Bog Warrior and Sous Les Cieuxclaiming the Grade 1 honours.The feature of the Flat season at Fairyhouse is the Group3 Brownstown stakes and this year’s victory went to theJuddemonte Farms owned and bred mare Emulous fortrainer Dermot Weld. She later went on to Group 1 glory inthe Matron Stakes at Leopardstown.2011 was a difficult year for the track at Fairyhouse due to theunsuccessful track works in 2010. This led to just 16 of the 20scheduled meetings taking place. However, by the end of theyear, all of the galloping areas had been successfully testedto allow a full programme for 2012.The enclosure and facilities saw improvements such as a newmembers lounge, the Tote Sport’s lounge and the addition ofthe winning connections room. The committee have plannedfor further developments in 2012.The Sunday market continues to develop and is a keycontributor to Fairyhouse by attracting large crowds everySunday. The 3-Steps school was among the new non-racingactivities which occurred in 2011.Overall attendance of 53,546 was up on 2010 by 5,939customers. Bookmaker betting for the year amounted to€6,018,167 and Tote turnover was €1,954,760.14 Horse Racing Ireland Annual Report 2011