http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=40493&subsec=3 Posted: 12/8/2003 8:49:00 PM ET

Aga Khan to fund renovation of the Curragh

After declaring three years ago that the Curragh was no longer a world-class facility, the Aga Khan has donated funds to the Irish Turf Club to renovate Ireland’s most famous racecourse.

The Stand House Hotel, located across the street from the grandstand, has in the past imposed limits on expansion, but that will no longer be an impediment with the funds available for the Turf Club to purchase the hotel and use the grounds in the development of a modern facility.

All the classics in Ireland are held at the Curragh, and the headquarters of Irish racing is on the grounds, but the grandstand has not kept pace with other racetracks that hold races of the same caliber. In a speech at the Moyglare Dinner on December 5, Turf Club senior steward Ray Rooney announced the gift, which he called "a milestone in the history of the Turf Club and of the Curragh."

The amount of the donation has not been revealed, but the total cost of the property has been paid by the Aga Khan. The new grandstand could be opened in 2007.