Mike's 27 years at the reins
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DINGLE man Mike Sayers and his committee have been working hard these past weeks preparing the field at Ballintaggart for next month's Dingle races which will mark his 27th year as chairman of the organising committee.
"I started in 1984 when I took over from Paudie Fitzgerald and I always had a great interest in the event. There have been massive changes in the meeting and it's all very professional now. But only for the sponsorship we'd have no chance when you consider that it takes over €100,000 to run the races. The money goes on prizes, publicity, printing and insurance plus jobs that have to be done on the field and stand area. We always manage to break even at the end of the day," he told The Kerryman at the track this week.
"I enjoy the races, especially when everything goes OK and people enjoy themselves and go home safely. We get a lot of famous people every year. We had 25 races last year and some 200 horses booked in. That's a lot of work. We introduced the Friday evening meeting a few years ago to get the followers here early to help the business people in the town. Some people make a week out of the races and for them it's an annual holiday," he said.
"I get most of my satisfaction from following up the careers of the young jockeys who ride here and I love to read about their successes in Ireland and England. I buy the Examiner every day and after reading the headlines I go straight to the racing pages to see where these lads are today. Then, when I go home I'm watching the racing channels on the television. This venue is their Cheltenham and if they win the Dingle Derby that's a massive boost for them. The derby is the biggest horse and pony race in Ireland by far with a prize fund of over €6,000," he said.
Although he uses the term himself, Mike believes that calling the Dingle event a horse and pony meeting is completely wrong.
"We have 17-hand high horses running here, which are far from being ponies. We run our own independent association but we're governed by rules and regulations because all the associations are under the same insurance which helps to reduce the insurance costs," he explained.
"This year we have three different film crews coming here to record the meeting. We'll have TG4, a crew from the At the Races channel and an American crew," Mike said.
He has one regret from his 27 years as chairman of the Dingle races. "The one thing that didn't work out for me was Lester Piggott. He was due to appear here two years ago because his son was supposed to be riding. But neither of them turned up and that was a big disappointment because we were up in the sky about it and some people thought it was a set-up but it wasn't," Mike said.
The tone of Mike Sayers' interview gave the impression that he may be considering retiring as chairman but he declined to comment on that possibility.
The Dingle races will be held on the weekend of August 6, 7 and 8.
- Ted Creedon's Contact Ted Creedon Phone: 066 9151555 e-mail: tedcreedon@eircom.net
