Live music, glamour and the Grinch – Crowds descend on ...

A festive tradition for many, the four-day festival is a key part of the Irish horseracing calendar as friends reunited, glamorous racegoers sang in the stands and live music kept up the buzzing atmosphere yesterday.

Some 16,954 attendees visited the racecourse on day one, up from 15,797 on the same day last year.

Colourful coats, suave suits and even one man in a fluffy green Grinch costume came through the turnstiles of the iconic Dublin grounds.

The Leopardstown Christmas Festival runs from St Stephen’s Day until Friday and expects to welcome thousands of racegoers across the four days.

The in-person event returned for the first time since 2019 last year following the pandemic and punters have warmly welcomed the return of the Christmas festival.

“It has become a tradition for many families to meet up on St Stephen’s Day at the races,” said Leopardstown Racecourse CEO Tim Husbands, who said the “huge interest” in Irish horse racing is evident in the crowds who came through the gates yesterday.

Young people, seasoned supporters, tourists and families were among those who braved the crisp, cold weather to visit the racecourse yesterday and while the coming days look to bring more unsettled conditions, including heavy showers overnight, wet weather is unlikely to dampen punters’ spirits or the sporting events on offer.

A windy, wet start to the day looks likely to clear into bright spells and more widespread showers just in time for the first race at 12.05pm today as the event programme continues for the second day of the festival, attended by over 17,000 people last year.

Mr Husbands said the potential rainfall is “not a bad thing for the track” as Leopardstown prepares to host some of the highlights of the horseracing calendar.

He named tomorrow’s Savills Chase as one highly anticipated moment in the festival programme, featuring some of “the best horses of its type” in a competition that makes it tough to bet on any one winner.

Despite some “cracking” finishes on the first day of the festival, it is all still to play for according to bookmaker Ladbrokes head of public relations Nicola McGeady.

“Day one of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival has swung in the bookies favour thanks to some cracking results,” she said.

“Favourites were hard to come by for punters with Kala Conti’s victory the icing on the cake. However, with three more days to go, it is all to play for.”

Gordon Elliott took home wins in three races yesterday, including two of the big events with Kala Conti winning the Mercedes-Benz South Dublin Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 2) and Found a Fifty coming in first in the Racing Post Novice Chase (Grade 1) ridden by Jack Kennedy.

Tipperary jockey Rachael Blackmore on Captain Guinness is among the favourites tipped to win this afternoon.