Having a Festive flutter

This Christmas, tens of thousands of racegoers will flock to Greenmount Park for the annual four-day Guinness Christmas Racing festival.
It remains one of the real highlights of Limerick's social calendar during the festive period.
For many, a day at the races is a terrific social occasion, a chance to catach up with old friends and enjoy some lively banter, as well as fine food and drink.
For others, the lure of the races is all about the betting ring, the 'jungle' where bookie and punter go head-to-head, pitting their wits against each other over a competitive seven-race card.
Last Christmas, the betting turnover at Greenmount Park reached a whopping €3.3 million.
With some 33,000 racegoers passing through the turnstiles over the four days, the average amount wagered by each patron was €100.
Of course, this is a very crude figure. Many thousands of racegoers didn't gamble anywhere near that amount of money.
But a considerable number also gambled far sums of money which were a great deal greater than that.
Figures on total betting turnover give us a further indication of how much Irish people love to have a bet.
All the talk this Christmas has been about the credit crunch. Just how the downturn hits the betting turnover at Greenmount Park will become clear on Monday evening next.


Colm Kinsella