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Punchestown, Galway, Navan, Cork, Fairyhouse, Leopardstown and Tipperary

Punchestown along with Galway, Cork and Horse Racing Ireland’s (HRI) racecourse division racecourses today announced a partnership with Rewards4Racing to offer a dedicated loyalty programme for Irish racegoers – Rewards4Racing.ie

Now in its eleventh year and with over a million members, Rewards4Racing, the award-winning rewards programme for racegoers in the UK, has proved to be a significant resource in helping its UK racecourse partners attract new racegoers as well as retaining and rewarding existing fans of the sport. In 2019, before the pandemic hit, 960,000 tickets to the races were bought by its members, making up almost one fifth of all attendances at English racetracks.

Rewards4Racing Ireland members will be able to join the programme and collect points initially with Punchestown, Cork, Fairyhouse, Galway, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary when they buy general admission tickets or when they engage with the racecourses through their online and on-course promotions. Several other Irish racecourses will be added in the coming months, with the ultimate ambition of having all Irish racecourses onboard with the Rewards4Racing programme. Furthermore, like the UK version of the programme, members of Rewards4Racing Ireland will be able to boost their balances by collecting points every time they shop with thousands of brands or place a bet with Rewards4Racing’s exclusive betting partners. Members can then spend those valuable points to save money on their next racecourse admission ticket or to win some amazing prizes.

In addition, Rewards4Racing’s 1.2 million UK members will also be able to use their points to go racing in Ireland and attend major festivals including the Punchestown, Galway and Dublin racing festivals.   

Conor O’Neill, Punchestown CEO said: “People make Punchestown and recent times have proven that more than ever. We really look forward to engaging with even more people as we join forces with Rewards4Racing. We are all systems go for the 2022 Punchestown Festival and it is essential that we recognise and reward regular racegoers, those who book early and attract new customers to the home of Irish jump racing. This initiative is an ideal fit and we really look forward to welcoming Rewards4Racing customers to Punchestown soon.”

Paul Dermody, CEO of HRI Racecourses, said: “On behalf of HRI racecourses, I am delighted to launch this partnership with Rewards4Racing today and we look forward to many other Irish racecourses joining the rewards programme in the coming months. I have been impressed for some time with their track record in assisting UK racecourses to drive higher attendances, better engagement and rewarding loyal racegoers. I am confident we can replicate this formula at Irish racecourses and further enhance the experience of racing in Ireland.

“I love the fact that members of the Rewards4Racing programme can generate points with any one of thousands of national and international brand purchases, yet they can only redeem those points against tickets for racing. That has to be attractive to our own racegoers in Ireland and indeed the 1.2 million Rewards4Racing members in the UK, many of whom travel regularly to our marquee Irish racing festivals already.”

Michael Moloney, CEO Galway Racecourse said: “This is great news for Irish racing with Galway Racecourse delighted to be part of the initial roll out here in Ireland, with the ultimate aim of having all other Irish racecourses on-board shortly. We are hugely passionate about growing our sport, the fan experience here in Galway, driving value for our customers and rewarding them, so this initiative aligns perfectly with our own ambitions. We look forward to some cracking racing and welcoming Rewards4Racing customers to Galway in 2022.”

Rewards4Racing Director and Co-Founder, Josh Apiafi, said: “Since we launched the Rewards4Racing programme in 2011, our mission has been to reward passionate racegoers by working with, and supporting, our racecourse partners, especially when times are tough. So, in conjunction with HRI’s racecourse division, we’re thrilled to be launching the programme with a dedicated platform for Irish racing fans on Rewards4Racing.ie. Together with the teams at HRI, Galway and Punchestown, we have worked tirelessly to bring this important partnership to launch. In 2018, HRI announced a growth strategy for Irish racing and one of the elements of this was an industry-leading rewards and loyalty programme for Irish racegoers. I’m delighted that we were successful through the tender process to be the programme of choice and we can’t wait to get underway.”

NOTES TO EDITOR

About Rewards4Racing:
Rewards4Racing is British and Irish racing’s award-winning rewards programme dedicated to racing fans and those who love a great day out at the races. The programme is free to join, and members can collect points for doing the things they already do as a racing fan, whether that’s buying tickets to the races or engaging with our racecourse and racing partners on their websites or on social media. Members can also collect points every time they place a bet with Rewards4Racing’s exclusive betting partners as well as through their everyday shopping with brands they already use and love.

Points can then be used to win amazing racing experiences or make great savings on race day tickets, race day packages and hospitality at over 1,000 race meetings each year including the Cheltenham Festival, the Randox Health Grand National, the Cazoo Derby, the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, the Cazoo St Leger Festival, the All-Weather Championships and now some of the most iconic race meetings in Ireland such as the Dublin Racing Festival, the Punchestown Festival, the Galway Races Summer Festival, Longines Irish Champions Weekend and the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.

Since its launch in 2011, Rewards4Racing’s membership has grown rapidly and now stands at over 1.2 million members.

Further information can be found at www.rewards4racing.ie

More and More – glass ceilings never stood a chance with Rachael Blackmore

€1500 worth of FREE admission tickets to nearly 80 race meetings

Some play the game, some change it. March 2021 was the first Cheltenham in 20 years that there wasn’t the usual gang of champs in the weigh room. Geraghty had joined Walsh, McCoy and Carberry on the other side of the curtain, while Russell was recovering from serious injury sustained the previous autumn. Johnson was still pulling on his silks but the end was nigh.The stage upon which we create our stories for the future had room aplenty on it for new players. Rachael Blackmore began to fill the void.
Not since Sarah Connors in Terminator or Ellen Ripley in Alien has a woman controlled the chaos around her so completely.
Blackmore won six races over the four days, a score only ever bettered by Ruby Walsh, to take home the leading jockey award. Interesting to note that without the Elliott episode, two of the six would have been Jack Kennedy’s rides. When the ball is bouncing your way, anything is possible. Four falls peppered the days too, but only those who have gone over the edge know where it truly lies.
She won the Champion Hurdle with the unbeaten queen Honeysuckle, showing complete conviction everywhere but nowhere more so than down to the last flight. Bob Olinger was steered home with clinical precision in the Ballymore, keeping the race tight around the home bend. Allaho galloped his rivals into submission in the Ryanair with a relentless performance whereas Sir Gerhard was allowed set steady fractions from the front in the Champion Bumper before sprinting up the hill. Quilixios received a textbook steer to triumph in the Triumph and Telmesomethinggirl got a Carberryesque hold up ride to come from the clouds in the Mares’ Novice.
A complete collection of race-winning rides. Front, middle, rear. Inner, middle, wide. Bumper, hurdle, chase. It left the watching masses wonderstruck.
A week for the ages. A week that will be reminisced about late into this century.
Irish Racing Yearbook 2022 is the definitive, established Irish racing annual, a collaboration of the best writers and photographers with the leading protagonists of racing, detailing some incredible stories throughout the entire spectrum of the industry, from breeding to sales to point-to-point to the racetrack.
Rachael Blackmore is our lead interview as a result of her historic year, the first woman to ride the winner of the Grand National at Aintree, courtesy of an ice-cold display of navigation on Minella Times.
That came just a few weeks after booting home six winners at Cheltenham, a tally only ever bettered by Ruby Walsh, and which included another piece of history in becoming to first female jockey to win a championship race at the Festival, the Champion Hurdle on People’s (Equine) Champion, Honeysuckle.
Housemate Patrick Mullins (also champion QR jockey, assistant trainer to his father Willie and gifted wordsmith) poses the questions and elicits some wonderful insights.
Henry de Bromhead, Colin Keane, Denise Foster, Joseph O’Brien, Paul Townend, Richie Condon, Jim Bolger, John Nallen, Ben Coen, Noel Meade, Gavin Cromwell, Jessica Harrington, Siobhan Rutledge, David Loughnane, Rory Cleary, Gary Carroll, Shane Foley, Stuart Crawford and Barry Mahon are some of the others that are interviewed and featured by an array of stellar writing talents.
Irish Racing Yearbook 2022 also includes in-depth analysis of the bloodstock industry, crunching the sales and stallion numbers and looking at some of the key events that could shape the sector in the future.
And that is not to forget the €1500 worth of FREE admission to nearly 80 meetings in Ireland, in essence offering the purchase price back more than 50 times to buyers, as well as the half-price offer for an annual subscription to Racing TV.

A further taste
“People will never realise the mental stuff that I went through – the torment. Knowing that I’ve been accused so badly in the wrong” – Richie Condon

“When we have a good horse that we think can compete at a good level internationally, we’re always keen to try and do that” – Joseph O’Brien

“The first day we put reins on him on the gallop, he got away. He was going 40 minutes and we couldn’t catch him” – John Nallen on Minella Indo

Irish Racing Yearbook 2021 (€28.75/£25.75) is on sale now in all good newsagents and bookshops and can be ordered online (www.irishracingyearbook.com) or by phone (+353 85 7280169).

 

Work In Town

Punchestown….we may be biased but some might say #WhereChampionsWork

We have two positions to fill and are currently seeking to recruit a Sales Executive and Event & Operations Executive to join our dynamic team at Punchestown Racecourse.

We are just about to head into our busy period in the lead-up to the 2022 Festival taking place from Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 April.

We are looking for vibrant, motivated and eager team members to join us! 

We have posted both job specifications below. Closing date for applications is 5.30pm Wednesday 15 December.

Any queries please email careers@punchestown.com

Event & Operations Executive – Job Specification

Sales Executive – Job Specification