Galway Bay fm newsroom - The attendance at the first day of the Galway Races was up slightly on the figure for the same day last year, however betting was down.
20,397 people went through the turnstiles at Ballybrit yesterday, just over 200 more than the same day last year.
Despite a slightly bigger crowd in Ballybrit yesteray, the Tote turnover was down by 143 thousand euro compared to last year with a total of 659 thousand euro.
Betting was also down with the bookmakers with a total figure of 984 thousand euro handled, a drop of 128 thousand euro compared to the Monday of last year's racing festival.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was the guest of honour at the racecourse yesterday where he unveiled a sculpture by John Behan to mark 150 years of Galway Races.
