By Dan Walsh
Wexford racecourse marks 75 years at Bettyville this weekend with a two-day meeting on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday.
The clocks change by an hour on Saturday night, setting the mood for two eagerly anticipated days of National Hunt racing.
They’re under starters orders for the first of eight races on Sunday at 12.50pm. The first two races are steeplechases, and all the top trainers have runners entered.
There is a total of 89 entries.
According to Horse Racing Ireland the going is predicted as ‘Soft’. It added; “Following 27mm of rain in the last 12 hours. Possibility of further 20-25mm (approx.) of rain prior to racing. Chase track is on outermost line, and Hurdle track is 11 yards from innermost racing line.”
HISTORY: Horse racing is believed to have taken place on the Slobs near Wexford since the 1870s.
However, contemporary local newspapers reported that 17,000 people attended the first meeting at the current Bettyville course in October 1951 – 75 years ago this week.
Over the years, various improvements and developments have been made to the course, and it has been levelled several times.
A significant gamechanger occurred in May 2016, when Wexford became a jumps only racecourse a year after switching from being a right-handed to a left-handed course.
2022 Aintree Grand National winner Noble Yeats (Emmet Mullins/Sean Bowen) turned up later the same year to win the M.W. Hickey Listed Chase. That was a memorable day for Wexford races.
The staff, comprising entirely dedicated racing enthusiasts, continue to work hard on both the facilities and marketing of Wexford Racecourse to this day, truly positioning it as an essential and attractive venue in the Irish horseracing scene for both those in the equestrian industry and racegoers alike.
