Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) will return to the 2017 National Ploughing Championships next Tuesday 19 to Thursday 21 September at Screggan, Tullamore, County Offaly.
The interactive HRI marquee will be hosted by ITV Racing and At The Races presenter Matt Chapman and his At The Races colleague Kevin O’Ryan who will interview top trainers and jockeys daily, including Davy Russell, Ruby Walsh and Pat Smullen, with lots of competitions and racing ticket giveaways.
Visitors to the marquee will see RACE (Racing Academy and Centre of Education) give horse simulator demonstrations, allowing members of the public to experience what it is like to ride a racehorse and gain an understanding of the career opportunities in the racing industry.
Children will be entertained by ‘Front Runner - Racing Club for Kids’. The daily shows at 11am and 2pm will include racing games, colouring competitions, quizzes, demonstrations and great prizes. A ‘Racing Mastermind’ battle will also be a feature of the daily shows, with Matt Chapman taking on Horse Racing Ireland racing expert, Martin Murphy.
Horse Racing Ireland is also offering a VIP day at the races for ten people at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. Each of the ten guests will also receive a one-year digital subscription to the Irish Field bringing the total value of the prize to almost €3,000. The competition is free to enter to all marquee visitors.
The HRI merchandise shop will be stocked with adults and children’s jackets, gilets, beanies and baseball caps.
Barbara White, Head of Marketing and PR, HRI commented: “Horse Racing Ireland’s presence at the National Ploughing Championships connects us with the rural heartland, where racing has its most dedicated followers. Our marquee will be completely racing interactive for the entire three days with in-depth interviews with, and opportunities to meet top jockeys and trainers and take part in our racing quizzes and competitions. It’s a great way to introduce children to racing with our ‘Front Runner - Racing Club for Kids’ shows and see horse simulator demonstrations from RACE. We will have information on all race meetings for the rest of the year, details of how to get involved in horse ownership and literature from our Careers and Racing Education (CARE) Department.”
ITV Racing and At The Races Presenter, Matt Chapman said: "This will be my third year MC’ing the Horse Racing Ireland marquee at the Ploughing and I’m always so impressed with the level of interest and knowledge the ploughing visitors have in Irish racing. Kevin and I have great fun chatting to all the top jockeys and trainers over the three days, meeting trainee jockeys from RACE and embarrassing myself on their horse simulator. I can’t wait to immerse myself in the mud, the tractors and Irish racing for three days and packing the marquee to the rafters for the daily shows.”
The Horse Racing Ireland marquee will be located at: Block No 2, Row No 11, Stand No 261.
At The Races and ITV Racing Presenter Matt Chapman during last year's Ploughing Championships.
