Curragh and Irish Lottery link up
THE Curragh has joined forces with the Irish Lottery for a game that could see a €25 ticket holder winning €1m on a horserace.
Ticketscosting €25 went on sale on Monday for the inaugural National Lottery Sweepstakes Race, set to take place on Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby day at the Curragh on June 27.
Only 200,000 areavailable and entries close on June 20. A draw will take place in Dublin to select the 200 prize-winning sweepstakes tickets and the holders of the top 25 drawn will enjoy a VIP weekend at the Curragh, staying at the K-Club and taking in the Irish Derby ball.
On that Saturday evening they will each be allocated a horse declared to run in the €100,000 sprint handicap - the richest in Ireland - and the ticket riding on the winner will provide its holder with €1million.The second and third tickets home collect €500,000 and €250,000 respectively, while the remaining 23 win prizes from €10,000 to €200,000 and the 175 that were not allocated a horse each get between €100 and €5000.
In 1962 the Irish Derby was combined with the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake to become the Irish Sweeps Derby, which was the catalyst that sparked the race's international recognition. Evan Arkwright, the Curragh's commercial manager, said that the idea for this initiative harks back to that time, adding: "When we put the concept to the Lottery last autumn they were quite receptive and in there research they found that the Sweeps Derby still had plenty of recognition. They are always looking for new games and this one is certainly unique to Britain and Ireland, maybe Europe and possibly the world.
"We chose the sprint handicap because it was likely to have the most runners and we'll be trying everything we can to ensure we get the full 25."
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