Heading to the Curragh for Irish Derby - advice?

[Scots_Al]

Hi folks New contributor (but I promise to stick around!). I'm a v. regular race-goer in Scotland and the far northern courses in England, with occasional ventures further south. However, this weekend I am spreading my wings and going racing outside of the UK for the first time - for the Irish Derby Saturday and Sunday! I'm very excited about this :D But I wonder if anyone can give me any tips to make the most of the experience (not of the equine variety necessarily!). A couple of specific queries: 1) I'll be staying in Dublin and travelling down to the Curragh - any thoughts on transport? I'm told that there is a Bus Eireann special service to the Curragh, but can't find any sign of it anywhere on the Bus Eireann website - can anyone assist? The other way there is train to Kildare. I am thinking of doing this on the Saturday at least - going down early and pottering about Kildare (is there enough to keep me occupied for a couple of hours?). Is it a readily walkable distance to the racecourse? How frequent is the shuttle? 2) Is there an Irish equivalent of the Racing Post? Sold in all good newsagents? 3) Is the betting set-up the same as in the UK? Is there a betting ring and a tote? Any peculiarities that I should be aware of? 4) What else do I need to know??? Many thanks in advance :D

[TheRat]

Re: Heading to the Curragh for Irish Derby - advice? Not been myself but really want to go. They have Tote Ireland available on course Have a good time, and maybe watch The Irish Angle on ATR this Thursday :lol