Trainer Open Morning

Noel Kelly hopes that people buy into the exciting opportunity of seeing his yard’s open morning on Saturday 23 July as punters from all around get to see first-hand all that goes on in the world of horse racing ownership, writes Tom Masters.

Kelly follows on from John Hanlon in opening the gates and letting in the general public, in collaboration with Horse Racing Ireland – giving those interested in potential ownership an opportunity to see behind the scenes.

And Kelly believes those who take the chance to look around the Draperstown stable, which will be open to the public between 10am and 1pm, will enjoy themselves.

“What we’ll do is ride out a few lots of horses, and we’ll show a few young horses out there that we’ve picked up,” he said.

“There were a few owners and syndicates when we did this last time, so it was a good opportunity and people enjoyed the day.

“I like to let people know the background of horses, what can go right and what can go wrong and all that.

“I like to let people see that they’re not machines, they’re not engines.”

The County Derry trainer previously hosted an open day in which around 300 people were in attendance but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant there have not been subsequent events in the years since.

But they are back for 2022 with mornings running nationwide throughout the summer and into October. All events are free to attend, although visitors do need to pre-register.

And Kelly has some advice for any prospective owners: patience.

He said: “People buy in to horses and are enthused to buy into horses a little bit.

“At the end of the day, you buy a horse, you buy them for sport and if they’re lucky, you’re lucky and that’s that.

“People say we’re going to buy a horse and then in three months time we’re going to buy a house but it’s not like that!

“You shouldn’t panic or you shouldn’t buy in if you think you’re going to buy the horse to pull massive gambles, you have to be lucky.”

Kelly has switched his focus to point-to-point in recent times, meaning most of his horses are young and unproven - though he still picks up the occasional winner at racecourses in Ireland and the UK.

And he believes the opportunity to see them right from the very start of their journey, before they even begin racing, will only add to the joy of seeing them succeed down the line.

He added: “For somebody starting out first time, they can be very ready to go and they wouldn’t be as bored.

“We’re really looking forward to getting people back in to the yard and it’ll be a great day.”

To pre-register for a Trainer Open Morning (including Noel Kelly's) click here https://www.racehorseownership.ie/openmorning/