A total of 24,168 racegoers attended the inaugural two-day Irish Champions Weekend race meeting this weekend, easily passing the target of 20,000.
The opening day at Leopardstown recorded attendances of 13,190, up from 8,786 for the same meeting in 2013.
Pat Keogh, Chief Executive of Leopardstown Racecourse, said: “While we were delighted to exceed our targeted attendance figures, the real success was the extraordinary atmosphere and the exceptional quality of racing.”
The Curragh doubled its attendance from 5,285 on the same day last year to 10,978 today.
Paul Hensey, General Manager of the Curragh, said: “The day was beyond our expectations. The atmosphere was terrific and it was great to see such a variety of trainers winning our races. It gives us a huge platform to work from for next year.”
A major feature of the weekend was the high level of British runners and their success on the track, dividing the honours equally with their Irish hosts over the two days.
Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said: “The outstanding success of these two days proves that the Irish Champions Weekend concept works. We have something really positive to build on and look forward to even greater success in the future.”