Bellewstown Racecourse

A sharp, left-handed track of roughly nine furlongs per circuit. It is genuinely undulating, with cambered, fairly tight bends and a slightly uphill finish over the closing couple of furlongs; the uphill finishing straight runs around three furlongs. The course stages Flat and hurdle racing only, with no chases (there are five hurdles to a circuit). With its turns, cambers and uphill finish, it suits handy, well-balanced, pacey types rather than long-striding gallopers, and being up with the pace is an advantage. On the Flat, a low draw is generally favoured on firmer ground.

Bellewstown is one of Ireland's oldest racing venues: the first recorded races appear in the Dublin Gazette and Weekly Courier in August 1726. In 1780 George Tandy, a former mayor of Drogheda, persuaded King George III to sponsor His Majesty's Plate, worth £100, an event that ran for generations and remains the course's defining historical link. For most of its life it held a single July meeting; in modern times it expanded to several short fixtures, and in 2026 it marked 300 years of racing on the hill.

Bellewstown is a minor jumps-and-Flat venue with no Graded or Listed races; its programme is built around handicaps and lower-grade contests. Its identity rests on its summer festival meetings rather than any single prestige race. Locally popular features include the Crockafotha Handicap Hurdle and the Mullacurry Cup Handicap Hurdle, both handicaps rather than graded events. The centrepiece is the multi-day July festival, with further short meetings later in the summer and autumn; exact dates and the number of days vary year to year.

Bellewstown Racecourse sits on the Hill of Crockafotha, Bellewstown, Co. Meath (Eircode A92 EC82), in the Boyne Valley a short drive south of Drogheda and roughly 35 km north of Dublin, so it is reachable by car off the M1 corridor. The hilltop setting is its main draw, giving wide views over the surrounding countryside towards the coast and the Irish Sea. It is a compact, country-festival course best known for relaxed summer-evening racing rather than big-meeting scale or facilities.