The Festival of Racing at Down Royal Racecourse in Belfast is not only the biggest meeting of the year in Northern Ireland, but it also provides a big boost to the local economy. Here is a look at how the fixture continues to go from strength to strength.
Strong Fields Expected In 2024
Gerri Colombe was successful in the feature race of the Festival of Racing in 2023, the Champion Chase. He could be set to defend his crown in the contest later this year in what looks likely to be another strong field.
🟡🟤 Galopin Des Champs – @Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup hero AGAIN!
🏇 18 runs
🥇 12 wins
🏆🏆 G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup
🏆🏆 Irish Gold Cup
🏆 G1 Savills Chase
🏆 G1 John Durkan Memorial
👑 Nine G1 victories
⭐️ Superstar pic.twitter.com/4M36GQE5ry— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 15, 2024
Gordon Elliott’s runner finished second in the Blue Riband event in the sport, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, back in March. His next campaign will be built around the Cheltenham Festival feature where he is 16/1 in the racing odds to prevail.
The Irish chaser is one of the popular racing tips for the leading 3m chases at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, including the Punchestown Gold Cup at the Punchestown Festival. The eight-year-old has an exciting future and his best may still be to come.
Down Royal Proves a Strong Test for The Best National Hunt Horses
The reason Down Royal can attract the best horses from Ireland and the UK is that its racecourse provides a strong and fair test. All the leading trainers in the National Hunt code, such as Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins and Henry De Bromhead, support the course.
Down Royal’s feature meeting comes in November which is in the early stages of the Jumps season. It is the fixture many trainers and owners choose for their horse to make their opening start of the campaign.
Great Atmosphere at Belfast Venue
Many horse racing fans book the Festival of Racing a year in advance, as they do not want to miss out on a place at the fixture in Belfast. One of the things they enjoy the most about this meeting is the atmosphere generated by the crowd.
Both days of the Festival of Racing are well attended, with 6,000 spectators set to return for each day of the 2024 meeting. There are Grade One races on the Friday and Saturday, so each card includes some of the best Jump horses in the sport.
Racegoers Enjoy the Nightlife in Belfast
With 12,000 spectators attending the Festival of Racing across the two days, the meeting is welcomed by all the restaurants and hotels in Belfast. Many racegoers head into the city centre after racing to enjoy the nightlife.
Without the Festival of Racing, November would be a quiet month for many of these establishments, as they would not normally expect bookings to increase until the run-up to Christmas in December. This leading event in the sport gives them a huge boost at the back end of the year.
Down Royal and Belfast Tourism Board will be doing everything they can to help the Festival of Racing thrive in the upcoming years, so it remains the first choice for many horse racing fans in the UK and Ireland.
