TURNOVER with the bookmakers on Saturday at Leopardstown was up over 37% on last year, yet prominent layers Brian Keenan and Brian Graham both told The Irish Field they felt it was a relatively quiet day in the ring.

There was an extra race on the Saturday card this year, but even that opportunity was not a winner with the satchel men.

Keenan said: “Leopardstown just felt flat from start to finish, with the exception of the big race, which was so exciting it papered over the cracks.

“I was bored at Leopardstown and I love racing. When there’s nine races, I think you have to bring it back to 25 minutes between races, not 35.

“I think there’s a lack of effort in promoting the day. I had been in Dublin a few days earlier and you wouldn’t have known there was a big meeting coming up. The big race deserved a better crowd than that.

“Jumps racing will always resonate more with the Irish public, so you’d imagine they would be putting more effort into pushing Irish Champion Stakes day, which is underachieving.

“The ticket price of €35 is a bit punchy, but I think the problems at Leopardstown go deeper than that. It’s been quiet there all summer. It has lost its aura. I know of people who were offered free tickets last Saturday and turned them down.

“Now it wasn’t a total flop. My turnover was adequate, but it was better at Ballinrobe on Friday evening, and that shouldn’t be the case. The atmosphere was electric at Ballinrobe too.

“Between Ballinrobe and Laytown, and the two big days at Leopardstown and the Curragh, there is a great package there for overseas visitors.”

Brian Graham added: “I was very disappointed with the atmosphere at Leopardstown. It never got going and a lot of people said that to me.

“I don’t think the nine-race card helped or the 35-minute gap between races. We were there from 10.15am until 6.45pm and it’s not fun any more.

“As Saturday was so poor, I expected worse on Sunday, but I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd and turnover at the Curragh.

“Having said that, if only 19,000 people attended over the two days, it’s an indictment on flat racing in Ireland.

“As far as business is concerned, we broke even over the two days.”