THE GALWAY RACES Irish Horse Racing History Ballybrit SPEEDY SHIPPING

THE GALWAY RACES by Jack Mahon. Published by Blackwater Press in 1995. Pictorial card covers. Illustrated with photographs. 224 pages. A celebration of 125 years of the Galway Races. ForewordYou have to be from Galway to really appreciate what the Galway Races mean to the City of the Tribes and to the West of Ireland generally. It is the biggest Irish festival race meeting of the year and is the high point of Summer in the West. People tend to make it their annual holiday and there is an atmosphere in Ballybrit that is unique.As youngsters we heard a lot about the Galway Races and longed for the day we could join the long queue of cars which annually trekked through my home town Dunmore en route to Ballybrit. When that day came my most abiding memories are the sounds of the horses hooves hitting the turf as they passed the Stands always teeming with people it seemed.It was only a two-day event in my young days. Now and for some time, it is a week-long Summer Fiesta — a Mardi Gras as Tom Bourke calls it in this book. This year is the 125th running of the Galway Races at Ballybrit. The Galway Plate and Hurdle are still the two main events but all the othe events are closely contested and the Galway Races now attracts the quality flat horses as well as the top National Hunt ones. I love Galway Races time Like everybody else here in Galway. I tend to measure the year by the Races and there is a flat feeling after it is all over for another year. A lovely cross section of people flock to the Galway Races annually. They are very welcome visitors for the week and help in no small way to make it the week of the year in Galway. I hope this book captures the unique flavour of the Galway Races and that more and more people will enjoy the sound of the hooves hitting the turf and the thrill of backing a winner in Galway.Jack Mahon - June 1995