The Galway Races will go ahead later this month, however, only 1,000 spectators will be permitted to attend race organisers have confirmed.
In a video posted on the official Galway Races Twitter account, chief executive Michael Moloney said they received the news of the crowd limits on Tuesday evening.
The annual festival is due to kick off on Monday, July 26th, with the 1,000-person limit applying to each day of racing.
🎥Update from our CEO Michael Moloney…#GalwayRaces pic.twitter.com/LxDkmRnYBq
— Galway Races (@Galway_Races) July 14, 2021
Mr Moloney said the news will be "extremely disappointing" for fans and sponsors, but added it is 7,000 more than was permitted last year when the event was forced to go ahead behind closed doors.
"We certainly look forward to making it an event that will be worth being at," Mr Moloney said.
He added they are still looking forward to some great racing and will provide further updates over the next number of days regarding how the 1,000 daily tickets will be made available.
For those who do not manage to secure tickets, the Galway Races will be televised live on RTÉ for the first four days of the festival, with Friday and Saturday's races being shown on TG4. All the action will also be televised on Racing TV.
