THE white flag has been raised and it’s all systems go for a bumper weekend for race-goers when Ballybeggan Park hosts the Kerry International Horse and Pony Racing Championships on June 27-28.
The two-day family event, supported by Tralee Chamber Alliance and Kerry County Council, will see top class racing under the rules of the Horse and Pony Racing Association with cast weights applying.
There has been huge interest from the northern and Midlands regions from where many will be travelling to Tralee for the weekend.
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Racing will get underway at 2.30pm on both days at a venue complete with full bar and catering facilities, trade stands and a huge line-up of kids entertainment to suit all ages including Bouncy Castles, Frozen characters, Face-Painting and much more.
Sunday, June 28 is Ladies Day offering fashionistas from all over the county an opportunity to showcase their finery at a wonderful social event in Tralee.
Preparations for the Kerry International Horse and Pony Racing Championships are well underway with a number of volunteers from Towards a Better Tralee giving freely of their time to make sure Ballybeggan looks its best at the end of June.
The President of Tralee Chamber Alliance, John Drummey, said: “There has been a great tradition of horse racing in Tralee and ever since last year’s revival of the sport in the town, there has been a great appetite for more. The organisers deserve much praise and support for choosing Tralee for this event and we hope it will attract large crowds from all over Kerry and beyond. There will be a quality race card, full catering facilities and numerous entertaining side-shows for all ages.”
Some of the most famous names in the sport have raced around the Ballybeggan circuit including Adrian Maguire, Norman Williamson, Barry Geraghty and Bryan Cooper over fences and Richard Hughes, Pat Smullen, Jamie Spencer and MJ Kinane on the flat.
The organiser of the event, Colm O’Connor, said: “Horse and pony racing is where these people learned to ply their trade from an early age and this has helped them in no small way once they made the transition from outside to inside the rails and realising their dreams and ambitions of becoming top class jockeys. There will be a number of categories on the race card during the Ballybeggan event on the 27th and 28th June to suit ponies of varying heights and varying distances up to two miles for the horses.”
For more information about the Horse and Pony Racing at Ballybeggan Park, contact Mark Sullivan on markksull@gmail.com
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