Ballybrit bolsters the spirits of punters and style-seekers

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN ATTENDANCE numbers and the amounts wagered might be down a bit this year for the first half of Galway Race Week but with the weather expected to hold fine and dry for the rest of the week, thousands of visitors and Galwegians will continue to flood Ballybrit until Sunday evening.Race Week is the final week of the busiest three weeks in Galway for tourism and thanks to those who enjoy following fashion, fillies or fun it will result in a €70 million economic boost to the city and county.Although the West of Ireland isn't set for any major heatwave this week, the mix of sunshine and light showers shouldn't affect those planning to attend one or all of the remaining race days.Hotels in the city have been busy over the past two weeks from the Film Fleadh and Arts Festival and bookings for Race Week have been exceptionally busy. Some hoteliers have noticed a marked increase in advance bookings for this week compared to last year and the majority of hotels are booked out for Wednesday and Thursday.Tomorrow (Thursday) more than 45,000 people are expected to dress up and make their way to what is regarded as the most coveted of best dressed competitions in the country, Ladies' Day in Galway. Well-known fashion moguls Brendan Courtney of Off the Rails, the Irish Independent's Bairbre Power and PJ Gibbons of Social and Personal will be weaving their way around the stands and peeking into the champagne tent in search of inspiring, individual style. And, with a prize fund of €20,000 for the best dressed and best hat, everyone will be taking a little extra time with their outfit this year.Those who are oblivious to the recession might still be able to book a table for the day in the champagne tent but at €160 for a bottle of vintage Dom Perignon (no, you don't buy it by the glass), it will be reserved for those with stashed cash or paid for in plastic.The tote and bookies have to make do with a little less cash being backed on the course this year but there are plenty of novelty bets to catch the interest of punters who like to place a wager on something a little bit different.Paddy Power is predicting that €70 million will be wagered throughout the racing festival and that overall attendance figures will be up on last year â€â€ at somewhere between 150,000 and 160,000 people.The bookmakers are offering a host of wacky wagers from weather betting to festival fashion to how many choppers will ferry stylish ladies to the races. There's even betting on what famous faces will be spotted in the crowd with Georgia Salpa and new beau Calum Best coming in at an odds-on 1/5. Sharon McHugh, spokesperson for Paddy Power said: 'The craic at Galway is top class and this year there's even more of a buzz around Ballybrit. With the weather forecast looking favourable it promises to be a glorious festival.'If you fancy a very long shot, there are odds of 1000/1 that the racecourse will run out of Guinness on Ladies' Day and while budget fashion is very much in style, the odds that the best dressed lady will have sourced her outfit in Dunnes Stores are 6/1.The weekend racing days are very much Galway's own and Sunday is always a day where family fun is the focus and of course everyone enjoys the wild, creative displays for the Mad Hatters' competition.