The Fairyhouse Winter Festival takes place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of December. This week we caught up with Peter Roe, Manager of the County Meath venue to get all the details for what promises to be a cracking weekend of racing. On day one of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival racing is set to go to post at 11:30am, the highlight being the Grade B EasyFix Handicap Chase worth €50,000. The eight race card is set to draw some interesting racing. The Grade 3 Willow Warm Hurdle being an informative race with some of the top four year olds from last season making their seasonal debut. Last year ..read more

The Association of Irish Racecourses is delighted to feature Punchestown Racecourse as they announced details of the new look Punchestown Winter Festival that will take place on Saturday, November 25th and Sunday 26th. The home of Irish jump racing will embrace the new later dates and roll out a festive feel across the weekend where, in addition to brilliant sport, there will be live music each evening, a special edition shopping village, FREE family fun and delicious seasonal additions to the food and beverage menus. Central to the overhaul is the improved top class racing line up with a priz ..read more

The Association of Irish Racecourses is delighted to feature Clonmel Racecourse in this week’s column. DJ Histon shares all the details on the upcoming Clonmel Oil Chase Day. The Clonmel Oil Chase has reached its 21st anniversary of sponsorship and is the biggest day of the year for the track. Taking place on November 9th, the team is hoping for another great winner of this iconic race. It has produced many top-class winners over the years including Fakir D’Oudairies, that gelding followed up his Clonmel Oil Chase success with Grade 1 wins at Ascot and Aintree. Last year’s race was won by the ..read more

The Association of Irish Racecourses is delighted to feature Down Royal Racecourse in this week’s column. The track has plenty to share with you all as betting giant Ladbrokes reaffirms investment as headline sponsor, while Bottlegreen raises a glass as sponsor of the Best Dressed Lady Competition at the annual Ladbrokes Festival of Racing. On Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th November, the Ladbrokes Festival of Racing will see Ladbrokes return for the 5th year as the headline sponsor. The festival promises runners and riders from the UK, Ireland and beyond competing at the premier racecourse, with ..read more

The Association of Irish Racecourses is delighted to highlight Wexford Races in this week’s column and it’s fair to say the venue has plenty of good news to shout about when it comes to their upcoming race days. A two-day meeting gets under way on Sunday, October 29th with a competitive card consisting of hurdles, chases and a mares’ bumper. The feature on Sunday is the Whitford Hotel sponsored Jim & Kay Whitty Memorial Handicap Chase. In 2022, this race was won by Optional Mix trained by Eoin Doyle, who went on to claim a win at the Limerick Christmas Festival before finishing second on T ..read more

Ballinrobe Racecourse were awarded the prestigious Racecourse Award at the Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards supported by Godolphin which took place in the Keadeen Hotel in County Kildare on Monday evening last. The Racecourse Award, chosen by the Irish Stablestaff Association is based on a quality programme evaluation. The survey evaluates each racecourse on a range of criteria relating to facilities for stable employees with the purpose of setting quality standards at all racecourses in Ireland. Bernard Caldwell, CEO of the Irish Stablestaff Association, commented: ‘It is an honour ..read more

In this week’s Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) column, we’re celebrating Limerick Racecourse and what promises to be a wonderful weekend of racing action and entertainment at the King John’s Castle Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 21st and 22nd. The iconic Limerick visitor attraction King John’s Castle is partnering up with Limerick Racecourse, lending its name to the new two-day National Hunt festival, one that is synonymous with the McNamara name. Speaking at the festival launch, held at King John’s Castle, Tom Rudd, manager of Limerick Racecourse, said: “We are really excited ..read more

The inaugural running of Naas Racecourse’s Oktoberfest Weekend Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, October 14th and 15th. The weekend will conclude the flat season at Naas with some top-class racing featuring the Listed RFL Steels Stakes, Irish Stallion Farms EBF Birdcatcher Premier Nursery Handicap and The Colm White Bookmaker November Handicap as well as the Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final. Sponsorship ranks The team at Naas is welcoming Naas Racecourse Business Club member RFL Steels Limited to the sponsorship ranks as they assume sponsorship of the new-to-Naas Listed Waterford ..read more

This week the Association of Irish Racing (AIR) column is dedicated to Tipperary Racecourse. Their Super Sunday fixture takes place on October 1st, kicking off the month in the best possible fashion with a top-class mixed flat and National Hunt programme. The on-track action features three Grade 3 jumps races and the Listed Coolmore Sioux National Concorde Stakes for the flat fans, while there will be plenty of off-track entertainment for all to enjoy. The card has attracted a terrific entry, with champion trainer Willie Mullins strongly represented in all the National Hunt graded races. It’s ..read more

Friday nights are back at Dundalk Stadium from Friday 22nd September. With 22 horse fixtures remaining in 2023 at Irelands only all-weather racecourse, there is plenty for racing fans to get excited about. Dundalk Stadium is Ireland’s 1st combined horse and greyhound racecourse boasting over 100 greyhound fixtures a year and 43 horse fixtures in 2023, there is something for everyone every week of the year. Doors will open on Friday 22nd September at 4pm with first race provisionally scheduled for 5.25pm. The weekly Friday fixtures also double up as a greyhound fixture, meaning these dual raci ..read more