Festival History
The first racing festival held in Ballybrit was a two-day event with the first race meeting on Tuesday, 17 August 1869. The summer festival was extended to a 3 day meeting in 1959, 4 days in 1971, 5 days in 1974, 6 days in 1982 and, most recently to, 7 days in 1999. The summer festival is the highlight of the business year for most local businesses as crowds and horses flock from all over the world to attend one of the world's biggest race meetings.
The pub underneath the Corrib Stand, built in 1955, was for many years the longest bar in the world. It was replaced by the Millennium Stand which opened in 1999. The Killanin Stand opened in 2007 replacing the old Corrib (west) Stand.
On the 4th day of the Galway races there was a race meeting held in Tuam. The last races held in the Tuam race course was in 1973.
Additional race meetings also take place in September and October, but these are not as popular as the summer festival, which draws more than 150,000 spectators.
Read more about this topic: Galway Races
Famous quotes containing the words festival and/or history:
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—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)