Pupils from local schools visit Fairyhouse
As preparations for the Fairyhouse Easter Festival continue to gather pace, almost 300 school children from the local area arrived at track this morning to take part in a Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) ‘Go Racing Kids’ Club’ Day.
Pupils from five schoos were given the chance to go behind-the-scenes at the home of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, in the run-up to Fairyhouse’s flagship three-day festival.
As part of the day they spent time walking the track with racecourse manager, Peter Roe, who explained how the team at Fairyhouse prepare the track for its Easter racing festival.
The objective of the ‘Go Racing Kids’ Club’ is to educate school children about racing and give them an insight into what happens at a racecourse.
It also builds relationships between the racecourses and their local community, encouraging an affinity with racing which will hopefully produce future racegoers.
The fifth and sixth class pupils spent time with jockey Conor Maxwell and Ratoath trainer Dermot McLoughlin, who spoke about their day-to-day routines and life in racing. Dermot also introduced them to racehorse Larry Capri.
The pupils also received demonstrations from RACE’s (Racing Academy and Centre of Education) racehorse simulator and were entertained by Marie Louise Donnelly from ‘Front Runner – Racing Club for Kids’ with racing-themed games, puzzles and quizzes.
Each pupil received a ‘Go Racing Kids’ Club’ goodie bag at the end of the day which included two complimentary adult tickets to go racing at Fairyhouse on Easter Tuesday April 18th.
The festival starts with Ryanair Gold Cup day on Easter Sunday, April 16th, followed by the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday and a family fun day on the Tuesday with lots of free activities for children. All children under 18 get free admission.
Peter Roe, General Manager at Fairyhouse Racecourse, commented: “It was great to see so many local school children at Fairyhouse today to learn about their local racecourse. This is very exciting time for us as we gear up to our flagship Easter festival. We look forward to welcoming them back on Easter Tuesday for our family
SCHOOLS
Rathbeggan NS
St. Paul's, Ratoath
St. Seachnall's, Dunshaughlin
St. Andrew's, Ashbourne
Scoil Cholmcille, Skryne