Fairyhouse seeking Grand National memorabilia for 150th anniversary
This year, the Fairyhouse Easter Festival which runs from Saturday 11 to Monday 13 April, featuring the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, also marks the 150th anniversary of the iconic race which goes to post at 5pm on Easter Monday.
To celebrate this milestone birthday, Fairyhouse Racecourse is putting the call out to racing fans for their Boylesports Irish Grand National 150 memories, stories and memorabilia.
Racegoers that have any photographs from the past festivals, old Grand National race cards or tickets are asked to share them. Fairyhouse would also love to hear the stories from the past 150 years of racing; if you met your husband or wife at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday or have an interesting story to tell about your Grand National experience.
1916 Irish Grand National runners from the racecard ​​​​​​.
Racegoers are being urged to share physical memorabilia or stories with Fairyhouse as part of the 150 celebrations. The three-day Easter Festival will feature many elements of the history and heritage of the race in an exhibition throughout in the enclosure. The racing photos and memorabilia will be displayed for attendees to take a trip down memory lane. There will be a parade of previous BoyleSport Irish Grand National equine champions and a special commemorative race card on Easter Monday to mark the 150th anniversary of the race.
Please call (01) 8256167 or email the Fairyhouse team with your racing memorabilia to0150@fairyhouse.ie
Meanwhile, to celebrate its 90th birthday, Tote Ireland will sponsor the Tote Gold Cup on Easter Sunday, the flagship race on day two of the Easter Festival at the County Meath track.
Ninety years ago, Tote Ireland took their first bets on Irish racing at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, 21st April 1930 when racegoers invested £5,035 in Tote pools. It was reported that the novelty of the new Tote betting system itself drew large crowds to the racecourse where the new Tote booths struggled to meet the demand.
Tote Ireland’s first Irish Grand National winning dividend was paid out on Fanmond at 16 shillings and 6 pence.
Since then Tote Ireland have become an integral part of the Irish race day experience, providing a wide variety of pool betting options for all racegoers. All Tote Ireland profits are re-invested into Irish horse racing.
To mark this milestone, Tote account customers can claim tickets to attend Tote Gold Cup day through thetote.com website. In addition, a unique 90th birthday betting pack will allow racegoers to purchase five Tote bets for the price of four on both Tote Gold Cup day and on Easter Monday. On Easter Sunday racegoers can win special Tote chocolate treats. One chocolate bar will contain a Tote golden ticket worth €1,000.
Ross Kierans, general manager, Tote Ireland, said: “The Easter Festival at Fairyhouse marks 90 years of Tote’s close association with Irish racing and we are delighted to celebrate the occasion by sponsoring a race as prestigious as the Gold Cup. I hope that racegoers enjoy the day’s racing and the various celebrations around our anniversary.”
Gillian Carey, operations manager at Fairyhouse Racecourse, commented: “It’s brilliant to have Tote on board to sponsor the Gold Cup on Easter Sunday. It’s a very historic race and it’s fitting that Tote, who give so much back to racing, are now the title sponsor. We are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National this year, so we are looking forward to celebrating two big birthdays over our three-day Easter Festival.”
Early bird tickets are now on sale at www.fairyhouse.ie
A two-day pass is €45. Easter Monday tickets are €32 (Gate price €40). The early bird offers end on 14th March.