The Dubai Duty Free sponsored Irish Derby at the Curragh succeeded in producing a rise in crowd numbers on Saturday, despite poor weather deterring many walk-up customers earlier in the day.
Faced with a busy sporting schedule and a sense that something was needed to lift the race, management decided to switch to a Saturday evening start time and were happy that the experiment had succeeded.
“The crowd figure was 23,211, which is 500 up on last year’s Derby meeting,” said Curragh Manager Paul Hensey.  “Considering the inclement weather, that has to go down as a success.”
“The general feedback has been very positive, especially about having the Derby as the last race.”
The crowd built up throughout the afternoon, despite early doubts over whether star attraction Camelot would take part.  The course used social media to update on his connection’s decision to race as well as his arrival at the racecourse and this will have helped to build the sense of excitement.
“Camelot’s confirmation and arrival at the track encouraged people to come racing and the atmosphere building up to the race was fantastic.”
“Considering the weather, I think the concept was a big success and when you have a significant change like this, it sometimes takes a year or two to really build up. Down the line I think it will gather momentum and become a fixture in people’s diaries.”
In racing terms Camelot’s win was a remarkable seventh in a row in the race for trainer Aidan O’Brien who is now, at the age of 42, the most successful flat racehorse trainer in Irish history with 28 classic victories to his name.
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