The opening day at Ballybrit was on Tuesday, 17^th August, 1869, when contemporary records show that 40,000 people turned up to watch the racing.  The park at Eyre Square had to be used as a camping site for the huge crowds that arrived in the town well in advance of the two-day race meeting.  The Chairman of the Stewards at the Meeting was Lord St. Lawrence, then M.P. for Galway and the man given most of the credit for creating Punchestown.  His fellow stewards were all involved in the tradition of hunting and steeplechasing – men like the Marquis of Clanricard, Lord Clarmorris, Captain Blake Forster, Henry S. Persse, Pierce Joyce, George Morris and Valentine Black.  Captain Wilson Lynch of Renmore gave the land at Ballybrit free of charge, and the racecourse, measuring one and a half miles was laid out by a civil engineer, a Mr. T. Waters.  The Galway Vindication described it as “covered with herbage or moss and excelling any course in Ireland for good going.

There were eight events, four on each day, but the main attraction was the Galway Plate “ .. of 100 sovs., an open handicap steeplechase of 2½ miles…”  Eight jumps had to be negotiated, two of them stone walls.  Tenant Farmers could race in the Glenard Plate (£50); and there was a Visitors Plate for gentlemen riders.  There was wide advance publicity.  The Midland and Great Western Railway agreed to carry all horses to and from the course free of charge provided they had run in a race – a great concession and a sure encouragement to entrants.  Special trains came to Galway from all over the country and the Lough Corrib Steam Navigation Company ran a special service from Cong for the two days racing.  A mounted official watched the racing on both days and jockeys were warned that  “if found guilty of sly practices in riding that they would be disqualified”.

Many improvements were made for the 1870 meeting.  A new Hunter’s course with a “rattling double bank similar to the Punchestown bank” was constructed and additional fly fences erected.  With the years the pattern and quality of the meeting improved.   By 1879, Mr. Garret Moore’s Liberator, ridden by the owner at Ballybrit, went on with the same rider to win the Grand National; and in 1898 another Galway Veteran, Drogheda, won the National from a field of 23.  But the greatest Galway Plate runner was undoubtedly Tipperary Boy won the Plate three times – in 1899, 1901 and 1902.  The only horse to come near this record was Clonsheever, who won in 1923 and 1924 but finished third in 1925 carrying 13 stone 1 Ib.  The classic performances of East Galway in the late twenties and early thirties are still recalled by many enthusiastic Galway patrons.  Having been successful with 12 stone 7Ib, in 1928, this horse was given 12 stone 10Ib the following year when he was narrowly beaten into second place and again in 1931 with 12 stone 7Ib, he came fourth.  When competing in the Blazer’s Plate in 1933, he was still rated as one of the finest chasers in Ireland.  One family kept up it’s connection with Ballybrit right from the start, a connection which was broken only when Harry Ussher died in 1957.  The Ussher Stables turned out seven Galway Plate winners, and in 1920 Harry Ussher trained the winners of all the races on the opening day – except the plate itself.   Galway Races have always attracted fine steeplechasing bloodstock.  Winners of the the Irish Grand National like Fair Richard and Red Park have been well tested over the course, and Ballybrit has seen winners of the Ulster Grand National, too.

Broadcasting of races commenced in 1929, and in that year, the Curragh Derby and Galway Plate were broadcast, and television arrived in 1963.  Sponsorship came in 1959 and racing was extended to a three-day meeting, and an Autumn Race Meeting was introduced in 1969.  The Summer Festival Meeting was extended to four days in 1971 and, in the fall of the same year, a major development commenced.  This scheme consisted of erecting a new stand to accommodate 6,000 people and a new administration building which contains offices, weighroom, jockeys’ rooms and ambulance room.  The Summer Festival Meeting was extended to five days in 1974 when Friday Racing was introduced.  When the Summer Festival Meeting was increased to six days, by taking in Saturday, Galway became the racecourse with the greatest number of days in any one meeting.  In 1999, Galway Races was extended to a seven-day festival with the addition of Sunday racing.  The September Meeting which was extended to two days in 1970, was further extended to three days in 1979.

The Galway Plate was first sponsored in 1979, and it was significant that a Galway Firm, Hygeia Ltd. was first into the field.

Since 1970,  major course improvements have been carried out, and this encourages trainers to race their best animals in Galway, a fact which is borne out when one sees animals like Dawn Run, Cairn Rouge, Blue Wind and Star Appeal have either won or been placed on this track.

In over one hundred years of racing at Ballybrit, the tributes paid to Lord St. Lawrence, the man who started it all, and the optimism expressed in local newspapers appear to have been deserved and well-founded.  Galway Races have gone from strength to strength.

At the 2008 Festival the feature Plate race was won by the Walsh trained Oslot, while the 2 mile Galway Handicap Hurdle was won by Indian Pace.

• 1979 – 1981    Hygeia Sponsored the Galway Plate

• 1982 – 1984    O’Malleys Sponsored the Galway Plate

• 1985 – 1997    Digital Sponsored the Galway Plate

• 1998 – 2001    Compaq Sponsored the Galway Plate

• 2002 – 2005    Hewlett-Packard Sponsored the Galway Plate

• 2001                 Vehicle Underpass: Another recent development which has eased traffic flow entering and exiting the racecourse.

• 2002                  Pedestrian Underpass:Completed in 2002 was a Pedestrian Underpass and new entrance building to compliment the                            vehicle underpass project. For the first time this will allow punters free flow access to the Race Meeting while racing                            is in progress.

• 2004                  The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr John O'Donoghue, TD officially opened a range of state of the art                            facilities at Galway Racecourse, including a new weighing room, media centre and administration building on Tuesday                            29th June 2004.

• 2005                  Hewlett Packard ceased their sponsorship of the Galway Plate following the Summer Festival Meetin after 21 years of                           sponsorship. In the same year Galway Race Committee wins award at Horse Racing Irelands Annual Horse Racing                          Awards ceremony in December 2005 for their contribution to the Industry.

Extremely grateful to Noreen from Galway Racecourse for providing the significant degree of detail shown in this account.

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