The Galway Summer Festival, one of the most popular competitions in Ireland, attracts just over 1,000 spectators daily.

After submitting a detailed proposal to the Irish government at the end of June, the track was expected to attract up to 5,000 people each day of the week, including the Tote Galway Plate and the Guinness Galway Hurdle.

As many as 1,000 people attended the Irish Derby reunion in Curaഗao as part of a government pilot project, and Galway will have to comply later this month in response to the submission.

Ireland negotiates exit from the Kovid-19 Pandemic and the resulting restrictions – despite the success of the Karag trial, the crowd on the racecrotts is still estimated at 500.

“We learned last night that the Summer Festival can accommodate 1,000 spectators each day,” said Galway Managing Director Michael Moloney.

“Given the support we have received over the past two weeks, we know this will be disappointing news for all our fans who are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to return to Balibrit this year.

“This is disappointing for our sponsors and everyone who expects a large crowd this year.

“On the other hand, there are 7,000 more people this time than last year – for those who can come to Balibrit this year, we are happy to bring back the owners, and now a few more.

“It simply came to our notice then. “