According to most of the headline numbers, the seventh running of the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown over the weekend was a triumph, both for the sport in Ireland as a whole and, of course, for its pre-eminent trainer, Willie Mullins, in particular.
The record crowd figure of 34,591 from 2023, which was a remarkable 40% jump from 2022, was broken once again, with 36,020 racegoers over the two days, and the estimated percentage travelling from the UK – and leaving significant sums behind in local hotels, restaurants and pubs – was also up, from 27% to 38%.
