Tickets selling fast for first full-capacity Irish Derby in three years

Preparations are being made for the first full-capacity Irish Derby at the Curragh in three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 50,000 racegoers are expected to attend the three-day festival at the end of June — compared to just 1,000 for the big day last year.

County Kildare Chamber expects a massive spin-off to the local economy such as the retail and hospitality sectors.

CEO Allan Shine said, “This year’s Derby promises to be a superb festival with a great family festival atmosphere.

“Expectations are that The Curragh will enjoy a bumper season and this year we expect several UK horses to over to take on the Irish over the course of Derby weekend and this will of course lead to an influx of UK visitors to Kildare.

“ To have racegoers attend the Derby again will be great and the spin off to the local economy will of course be very welcomed especially for our retail and hospitality businesses.”

As the Covid-19 pandemic raged last year, only 1,000 racegoers were allowed into the grounds and face masks were mandatory.

People were given specific arrival times and had to undergo temperature checks at the entrance.

The lucky punters were then allocated different zones to ensure social distancing.

There were no bookmakers allowed at the course, which saw Hurricane Lane win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby

Of the 1,000 tickets, 200 were allocated to Kildare residents and another 450 went on general release.

Another 50 complimentary tickets were set aside for local frontline workers from the Defence Forces, while the remaining 300 tickets went to Curragh and Go Racing in Kildare members.

Curragh CEO Brian Kavanagh said there are strong ticket sales as racegoers are eagerly awaiting to return to Derby Day.

Mr Kavanagh said: “We’re really looking forward to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby in June and we’re very encouraged already as to how our advance ticket sales are going.

“People are already availing online from our website of our early bird ticket offers which are €35 which is a special reduction offer down from €50 and is proving quite popular.

“This will be the first fully open Irish Derby weekend since 2019 and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming the people of Kildare and beyond back to our wonderful venue in June.”

For the latest information on the Derby, see curragh.ie.