SINCE humble beginnings in 2015, following the tragic passing of ‘Red’ John O’Donovan from Leap, the 2026 renewal of the Red John Memorial promises to break all records.
BY TIM KELLEHER
It is fitting that the opening meeting of the new half-mile, all-weather Lyre Raceway coincides with the Red John Memorial Weekend.
There is great excitement in harness racing circles as the new track opens, with over 160 entries in the book for the weekend, beating the previous record figure of 130.
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It has been a long journey for the sport since the closing of the track at Leap in 2011 but that journey comes to an end on Saturday.
Work has been in progress for the past few months at Lyre and the finishing touches have been put in place for the last fortnight.
The Red John weekend was first run back in Manch in 2015 as a one-day event but has grown into the biggest two-day festival weekend in Ireland.
With over €100,000 in prize money, there is something for everyone.
The Red John Memorial Pace and the Maven Trot are the headline events of the weekend, and the ones everyone wants to win.
The Red John Memorial Free For all Pace will attract the top eight graded horses and the Free For All Trot will see eight of the best trotters in Ireland battle for The Liam Carlin Memorial Cup.
With the link between the Irish Harness Racing Association and Le Trot, the governing body for the sport in France, a delegation of French drivers will make the journey to Lyre for the now annual Ireland v France Drivers Championship, which will see the best of our local drivers competing with the French in a four-race series.
With all the action on the track, there is plenty of activity off the track for young and old.
For the kids, bouncy castles and face painting will be on site and on Sunday a dog show takes place. There is an on-site licensed bar and catering facilities, provided by Bradfield Catering.
With a record number of entries, it promises to be a weekend to remember with racing getting under way at 2pm on both days.
