The Tramore August Racing Festival takes place this week, running from Thursday 13th to Sunday 16th of August. While Tramore Racecourse prides itself every year on offering 'much more than racing', this year, the entertainment is limited to that on the track. In 2019, over 20,000 visitors attended the Tramore August Racing Festival. This year, the even has to go ahead behind closed doors without a single punter.
On this week's Hot Desk, we look at the business of horse racing in Ireland, which usually contributes €2 billion in expenditure to the Irish economy each year, and the impact to the local economy now that this year's August Festival in Tramore is taking place behind closed doors. To discuss this, Tramore Racecourse Manager, Owen Byrne and Jonathan Mullin, the Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs of Horse Racing Ireland join guest presenter, Teresanne O'Reilly in studio.
