Fancy some top quality greyhound racing on Saturday? It’s free…

The first heats of the first running of the Betfair 600 take place at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night, and the sponsors have made the eye-catching offer of cutting general admission costs – to zero.

Betfair took over sponsorship of the race, one of the most storied events on the Irish greyhound racing calendar, earlier this year.

The trap draw for the first round heats took place this morning ahead of Saturday night’s card, and the sponsors subsequently announced that they will pay for your general admission ticket (normal price: €10) if you want to head along on the night. Generous, wha'?

Barry Orr of Betfair said: “Our Watermarque office is adjacent to Shelbourne Park so we are well aware of how popular the sport is.

“But being mindful of the challenges the consumer’s pocket faces at the moment, we are keen to give as many people as possible the chance to experience the unique atmosphere generated at Shelbourne Park on big nights like the first round of the Betfair 600.

“There’s usually a crowd of up to 1,800 people who turn out for the opening night of a big stakes meeting, so it’s not going to be a cheap promotion but if we can get a big crowd in the gates for the sport, it will be worth every cent.”

Razldazl George is the early favourite with the betting exchange at 4/1, with Tibetan Skies, Tyrur Big Mike and Razldazl Will all next best at 6/1.

Gates open at 6.30pm at Shelbourne Park on Saturday.