The fate of Tralee's racecourse at Ballybeggan Park was decided by its shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting at the Brandon Hotel on Thursday night.
The directors of Ballybeggan , recommended to its shareholders that they sell the race course to a consortium of investors, who had expressed an interest in purchasing the valuable land.
Ballybeggan Race Company has been in existence since 1944, which has ran a very successful six day meeting at the end of August each year, in conjunction with the famous Rose Of Tralee festival and there was also two other days racing earlier in the year in June of late, which have been transferred to Listowel.
At the meeting, the company's twelve directors have put down a motion recommending shareholders that they sell Ballybeggan to a group of property developers.
It's understood an offer of more than €40 million has been made for the track. However, in the past, management at the course had played down talk of a possible sell-off.
It was decided last night by the majority of its 50 shareholders ( believed to be 80%) that the Ballybeggan Park will be sold so the it appears that Kerry has lost the first of its three courses and the land will now be rezoned for development.
Locals are dismayed at this turn of events but the numbers attending racing in recent years have dropped alarmingly and the some of directors who initially opposed the sale, became disillusioned at the lack of support from the public.
Interestingly some of the lands may not be lost to sport entirely as it is widely rumoured that it may be the site of the new Austin Stack Park, which will become the headquarters for Kerry football teams with a new state of the art stadium, playing pitches, a fully flood lit all weather pitch and modern offices.
A spokesman for the Ballybeggan Park Company was unavailable for comment on Friday morning as locals try to come to terms with what has always proved to be an emotive subject.
