“People make an effort and that’s what makes it so special,” said Emma Murray (21), from Glenageary, Dublin, who was at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day with 17,000 others.
“This is our second year coming,” said her friend, Tanisha Nawaz (20), from Cherrywood, Dublin. “Everyone you know is here. It’s up there, one of the best events of the year.”
One of the attractions is the opportunity to dress up, said Emma. “People look forward to this all year. We start to talk about it in the summer. The dresses, the jackets.”
Young women in particular relished the opportunity to put on their glad rags.
Shoplifting: More than 8,000 arrests as gardaí focus on retail crime gangs in crackdown
‘An appalling tragedy’: Tributes paid to Leinster House usher killed while cycling in Castleknock
Woman (30s) killed and man seriously injured in hit-and-run incident in Blanchardstown
Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special review: Unkillable comedy’s wit is as sharp as a mouthful of Brussels sprouts
Katie Dooley (24), from Tallaght, was there with her sister, Nadine (19), and their friend Sasha Woods (24), from Churchtown.
“In nightlife these days, you don’t really get the opportunity to dress up fancy like this,” she said. “Especially at our age, its more boots and jeans, not dresses and heels. So it’s nice.”
“I love coming here,” said Jude Travis (22), from Bayside, Dublin, there with his friend Jamie Kelly (22) from Malahide. “I’ve been here for the last four years. I just love the buzz.”
Jude was dressed in a smart two-piece suit, a shirt and tie, and a flat woollen “Paddy” hat, while Jamie was wearing a patterned grey three-piece suit, a spotless white shirt and a dark tie.
“I personally only come here for the ladies,” said Jude. “We are not betting men. We are out here in the tins of fruit [suits] just to impress. The women are drop-dead gorgeous. Not all of them, maybe, but the majority.”
“It’s the only time of the year I look like this,” said a well-dressed Alex Larkin (21), from Bray, Co Wicklow. “The rest of the year I’m in tracksuits.”
During the afternoon, heavy fog delayed the racing, but did little to dampen people’s spirits. Bookie Alan McLean said he was doing good business.
“It’s very busy, loads of tickets. Not big money though. They are fairly young, but they’re behaving themselves. Tomorrow will be real punters, bigger bets, but not today.”
The average bet, he said, was €10 or €15, and the youngsters weren’t all losing their money. “They’re doing all right.”
Thursday, day one of what is to be a four-day festival, attracted a “bumper crowd” of just over 17,000, the organisers said.
Trainer Willie Mullins accounted for two of the day’s winners, while the feature race of the day was won by Gordon Elliot’s Croke Park.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
