Storm Boelo forces changes to Galway racing festival
Yellow rain warning from 4am tomorrow
THE horse race meeting at Ballybrit tomorrow (Saturday) has fallen foul to Storm Boelo’s arrival.
Galway Racecourse is rescheduling the race meeting to Monday, which means that the three-day October Bank Holiday Festival in Ballybrit will now start on Sunday and conclude on Tuesday.
Galway is included in a Met Éireann status yellow warning for rain from 4am to 3pm on Saturday, and a yellow wind warning from 1pm tomorrow until midday on Sunday.
The three-day racing festival begins on Sunday with a National Hunt meeting, followed by another National Hunt meeting on Monday and a Flat meeting on Tuesday.
“We're obviously disappointed that racing cannot go ahead on Saturday. Given the current ground conditions and the forecast arrival of Storm Boelo on Saturday morning, we believe rescheduling our fixtures is the most responsible course of action,” said Michael Moloney, Galway Racecourse Chief Executive.
“Over the past two days, we have carried out continuous assessments of the track and closely monitored the weather forecast.
“Following discussions with Shane Ryder, IHRB (Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board) Clerk of the Course, we jointly agreed that racing could not proceed safely on Saturday. It was a difficult decision to make, but the safety and welfare of our jockeys, horses, racegoers and staff must always come first.”
The storm may impact on planned events, with County football finals down for decision tomorrow. Headford play Fr. Griffin’s Éire Óg at 5pm in Pearse Stadium in the Junior Championship final, a game that is followed by the clash of Salthill-Knocknacarra and Maigh Cuilinn at 7pm in the Senior Championship final.
Galway has a yellow rain and wind warning for Storm Boelo while Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal have an orange wind warning.
Storm Boelo will be the second storm this week after Storm Austen left up to 3,000 homes and businesses without power this morning in the south and southeast of the country.