Limerick Racecourse set to host Mr Binman Christmas Racing Festival

CHRISTMAS means many things to different people but for lovers of horse racing, it’s the anticipation of four days of racing exhilaration at Limerick Racecourse, which, this year, takes place from Tuesday, December 26 to Friday, December 29.

This very popular four-day event will feature 28 National Hunt races, a prize fund of over €600,000 and has something to enthral all generations. Daily races commence at approximately 12:20pm with the last race at approximately 3:50pm.

Launching the 2023 Mr Binman Christmas Racing Festival at its Greenmount Park, Patrickswell facility today (Monday, 13 November 2023), racecourse general manager Tom Rudd said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Festival sponsor, Mr. Binman, which enables us to deliver a feast of great racing, great family entertainment and a superb post-Christmas atmosphere.

“Whilst every race at the much-anticipated Christmas festival is a feature, each day includes a stand-out race with higher prize money, which sees graded horses and their jockeys vie for the coveted trophy and prize money.

“A noted change in this year’s festival is the change in date for the featured Grade 1 National Hunt race. We have moved this race from the first to the third day’s card to avoid clashing with some of the other top class racing action happening around the country during this very busy period of the year for Irish racing” he added.

This year’s listed races include: the ‘Lyons of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle’ on the opening day, December 26, with a prize fund of €36,500; the ‘Grade 2 McMahons Builders Providers Irish EBF Dawn Run Mares Novice Steeplechase’ on  December 27, with a prize fund of €41,000; the ever-popular ‘Grade 1 Guinness Faugheen Novice Steeplechase’, with the largest prize fund of the festival, at €100,000.

The final day, Friday, 29 December, will feature ‘The Sporting Limerick Handicap Hurdle’, which carries a prize fund of €45,000 and “The Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle, with a prize fund of €20,000.

“Fun, entertainment, and amusement rides for the children will also be on the cards for the final day’s racing as we love to include the younger generation at this magical time of year.

All in all, we have four days packed with something for everyone in the family, with live music every day, and look forward to welcoming racegoers, be they seasoned or novice attendees to our wonderful racecourse in Patrickswell,” Mr Rudd added.

Also at the launch was Cork jockey/trainer Liam Burke who became the oldest jockey to win under rules for 100 years at 66 years of age when he won in Limerick Racecourse back in March.

Delivering Limerick’s ‘First Green Festival of Racing’

This year’s Festival also marks the commencement of Limerick Racecourse’s sustainability journey, as it strives to become Ireland’s leading racecourse in sustainability.

Measures being adopted, in conjunction with all its partners, include: the avoidance of single use plastics at the festival, in conjunction with Woodlands Caterers; the use of re-usable plastic cups; QR codes included on tickets linking to race cards to reduce paper waste; and public transport provided to and from the
racecourse to reduce carbon emissions.

In conjunction with Mr. Binman, racecourse management will also be setting new recycling targets for the reduction of general waste. The gross recycling rate from the festival in 2021 was 28%.

This increased to 32% in 2022 despite a higher footfall at the festival and is expected to increase further for 2023, when new, more ambitious targets for 2024, will be set once the 2023 results are reviewed.

Commenting on this ‘Green’ focus and the continuation of the company’s sponsorship of the festival this year, Sales and Marketing Director with Limerick based recycling company, Mr Binman, Joe Cleary, said: “We are delighted to be onboard again this year. We have committed with Limerick Racecourse to making big changes in sustainability during the festival and part of that will be the use of our Zero Emissions Electric bin truck at the festival. We had excellent improvements in recycling
rates last year and we intend to improve this further in 2023”.

“We are proud to have Ireland’s first ‘Green Racing Festival’ in Limerick, so close to our headquarters. We support this community occasion that has been part-and-parcel of Limerick each December for so long and this year it aims to be bigger and better than ever before.”

Sustainability measures already underway at Limerick Racecourse include the installation of new LED lights on the driveway, parade ring, car park and tote hall; the installation of hand dryers to replace paper towels; track irrigation using rainwater from the racecourse pond; recycling shavings and manure from the stables; and a sustainable gardening programme to attract pollinators.

Commenting on this sustainability focus, Mr. Rudd stated: “We want to be an exemplar racecourse. What better time to showcase what we are doing than during one of our most popular and busiest racing festivals of the year.

“Christmas racing has always been a tradition in the Mid-West, and we look forward to welcoming returning and new customers through offering a package of exciting races in our accessible, comfortable and sustainability-driven venue. From entry through the turnstiles to our panoramic restaurant and private suites, we can cater for all requirements and tastes through the four-day Christmas Racing Festival.

“Racegoers say that a day out at Limerick racecourse has to be experienced to be believed and we look forward to this reputation being exemplified this December,” he added.

Full details on the Mr. Binman Christmas Racing Festival at Limerick Racecourse, and tickets from €20 p.p., are available at www.limerickraces.ie