The Galway Festival of racing
The Galway races are one of the major events of the horseracing calendar.They usually take place the last week in July(in 2004 they will finish on Sunday 1st August)They are unusual in that they last for a full seven days, with some evening, and some full-day events.The course itself is quite hilly, but compact with a ruined castle in the middle !The facilities are excellent, although the popularity of the meeting means it is very difficult to get a hotel room during the week, and the roads get completely clogged up.Admission is quite steep, at 25 euro on the two biggest days - quite a loss even before you start betting ! The course was also the setting for a massive Papal mass when Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in the 1970's. Bags of cash !If you go on Ladies day - then enter the spirit and dress up.
