The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival will take place from Friday 30th June to Sunday 2nd July with the running of the 158th Dubai Duty Free sponsored Irish Derby on Sunday.
So far this year the famed Curragh Racecourse has seen an upward surge in attendance figures as the venue’s management have placed a focus on enhancing the experiential and fun aspect of the world class racing venue, which unveiled a new state of the art grandstand in 2019.
On the hospitality front management have really dialled up on the food offering with a very strong emphasis on sustainability and sourcing fresh Irish produce at all times, where possible.
Looking ahead to its biggest weekend of the year the Curragh Racecourse and their catering partners Fitzers Catering will be at full capacity. The venue will welcome 1,500 hospitality clients from at least 50 companies coming from 12 individual countries who will be served by an estimated 25 chefs and 420 hospitality staff.
In order to achieve Climate Net Zero, Fitzers Catering are sourcing food that is both local and seasonal, shortening supply chains and both minimising and offsetting their carbon footprint.
They are making conscious changes to the ways they source and serve food – from banning air-freight fruit and vegetables to introducing carbon labelling tool to help customers make sustainable food choices. The catering demands will be huge and preparation has already started.
1.5 tonnes of potatoes and fresh vegetables have already been ordered and it is expected that 36,000 pints of Guinness, beers and lagers will be drunk along with 4,000 bottles of beer, 800 bottles of Moet champagne, 1200 bottles of wine, 150 bottles of vodka, 58 bottles of gin, 8000 soft drinks, at least 4,000 cups of tea and coffee along with 1,500 desserts and about 1,750 burgers over the course of the three day festival.
Dubai Duty Free, one of the world’s leading airport retailers, have been title sponsor of the festival since 2008 and with the great support of their Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin, the event has gone from strength to strength.
The races attract huge international attention boasting extensive coverage across the globe which will be further boasted on Irish Derby Day as it is part of the Tote World Pool, an initiative of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which bring together bettors from all over the world.
The company also entertains some of its most important clients both on the racecourse and also at an exclusive Golf Day held at the K Club the day before the start of the Festival.
Other notable partners of the weekend include Kildare Village, GAIN Equine Nutrition, Paddy Power, Sherry Fitzgerald Country Homes, Ornella Underwriting, DMG Media, ARM Holding, Airlie Stud, Barronstown Stud and The K Club.
Huge emphasis has been made this year to engage with local businesses and this is very evident on the opening Friday evening with all seven races supported by restaurants and bars located in Kildare Town. These include the Silken Thomas and Lock 13, The Hartes Group, Kildare House Hotel, Cunninghams, Harp Bar and O’Dooles Restaurant, while drinks distributor JJ Mahon and Sons will sponsor the feature race for the first time.
The festival is recognised for its amazing atmosphere which will be amplified this year with a great line up after racing each day. Top tribute rock band Qween will perform on Friday evening in Champions Hall while Saturday sees young national singing sensation and Kildare native Lea Heart take the stage in the new Festival Quarter.
The festival will come to a close on Derby Day with a live performance from Spring Break playing 80s classics on the Sunday.
As one of Ireland’s most iconic sporting venues the Curragh Racecourse and Training Grounds brings a massive boost to the local economy with a direct economic impact of almost €100m per year supporting nearly 1,200 jobs in the area including staff from the 55 training yards based on the curragh with around 2,000 horses in training in the immediate surroundings.
The venue also plays a significant charitable role in the community that surrounds it. It continues to support a wide range of charitable and community events with the objective of benefiting as many people as possible who live and work within the local and racing communities.
These included several non-race day events, most notably the recent hosting of Relay for Life which raised in excess of €100,000 for the Irish Cancer Society, while the Pat Smullen Race Day in aid of Cancer Trials Ireland which takes place on 26th August will hope to exceed last years fund raising total of €180,000.
The Curragh also hosted the Taste of Kildare Food Fair during their Autumn Racing Festival. This unique event showcased the best of racing and food over one weekend giving local producers and restaurants the opportunity to promote their offerings and generated considerable local community engagement.
The Curragh offer a free shuttle bus service from Newbridge and Kildare Town, with the addition of a Naas service put in place for the Derby Festival, sponsored by leading security company Manguard Plus.
Expressway offer a direct bus return service from Dublin to The Curragh on race days, tickets must be purchased in advance on Expressway.ie.
All the details of the big weekend including special ticket offers, Gourmet Picnics and Curragh Bundles are available on curragh.ie . You can keep up with the latest news via the Curragh Racecourse social channels.
