Galway Bay fm newsroom - Over 20 thousand people attended day one of the Galway racing festival, an increase of just over 500 on last year's turnout.
While Tote spend was significantly down, the bookmakers recorded an increase of over €33,000.
Just over 20 thousand people turned out in Ballybrit yesterday, compared to 19,600 on the same day in 2017.
The bookmakers took in €1.1m and recorded an increase in takings of over €33,000 when compared to last year.
Tote was significantly down on the opening day of the festival at €802,000.
This compares to €877,000 at the Monday meeting in 2017.
The feature Connacht Hotel Handicap provided a good result for Aubrey McMahon, a lightly-used amateur, who won on Uradel to give him his second straight victory in the race after Whiskey Sour last year.
Among the 20 thousand strong crowd was former Miss Ireland Holly Carpenter and milliner Jennifer Wrynne.
Today, all the action in Ballybrit kicks off at 5.20pm with the Colm Quinn BMW novice hurdle.
