Punchestown Festival is “hugely important” for Irish horseracing industry – HRI CEO

Looking ahead to the Punchestown festival, Suzanne Eade, CEO of Horse Racing Ireland, said the five-day event is hugely important to the horse racing industry.

Ms Eade told The Leinster Leader: “The Punchestown festival always gives us so much to look forward to and it’s sure to be a thrilling five days.

“It is a hugely important week on so many fronts, tremendously significant to the local economy with a huge number of racegoers visiting from overseas.

“Whatever about the social aspect to the Punchestown festival, it is certainly a sporting highlight for so many with tens of thousands of racing fans heading for County Kildare next week.

“It is encouraging that the meeting is a focus for a number of British trainers and their participation will only add to the competitiveness of the racing.

“We have been delighted with the crowd figures for so many of the big racing days throughout the National Hunt season.

“The Leopardstown Christmas Festival, the Dublin Racing Festival and the more recent Fairyhouse Easter Festival were particularly well attended and I’m sure Punchestown will once again demonstrate just how popular these occasions really are.

“I was out at the racecourse [this month] and saw for myself the amazing work being put in.

“I wish the team in Punchestown all the very best for the festival.”

Ms Eade was appointed Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) in November 2021. 

Horse Racing Ireland is the governing body of horseracing in Ireland and is responsible for the overall development and promotion of the thoroughbred industry.

As a commercial semi- state body HRI, through its board, reports to the Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine.
This reporting line reflects the importance of Ireland’s thoroughbred racing and breeding industry to agricultural development and employment in every region of the country.