A Day Out at Clonmel Racecourse

Getting there

Powerstown Park is on the Clonmel bypass, roughly two kilometres from Clonmel town centre, at Davis Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. The Eircode for sat nav is E91 EP20, and the coordinates are 52.364352 N, 7.68072 W. The raceday phone number is (052) 6121605 if you need to check anything on the day.

By road, Clonmel is reached from across the wider Tipperary and Waterford region, and the course sits just off the bypass rather than in the town, which makes the final approach straightforward. Because it is only a couple of kilometres out, a short taxi from the town centre is a realistic option if you would rather not drive.

Beyond that, the honest position is that Clonmel does not publish detailed transport information in an accessible form. Rail station distance, bus and coach services, and parking capacity or cost are not confirmed, so this guide will not invent them. If you plan to travel by train or bus, or you want to know about parking on the day, contact the course directly or check clonmelraces.ie before you set off. For a busy fixture such as the November Oil Chase Day it is worth confirming arrangements in advance.

The course layout

Clonmel is a right-handed oval of about a mile and a quarter, set in a 160-acre wooded bowl in the Suir Valley. The first part of the circuit runs uphill, then there is a long downhill run to the home straight of a little over two furlongs, where the ground climbs again to a stiff finish. The wooded, undulating setting means viewing from around the enclosure is good, and you can follow most of a race from a single spot.

For the racegoer, the practical points are that the enclosure and stand overlook that testing home straight and uphill finish, and that the parade ring and winning line are the natural gathering points before and after each race. The course does not publish a detailed public seating plan or named-stand map, so this guide will not invent stand names or positions. If you want to plan exactly where to stand, or find a specific viewing spot, check the course's own signage on the day or ask staff at the entrance, and consult clonmelraces.ie for anything it publishes ahead of your visit.

Tickets and enclosures

Badges and tickets for Clonmel are sold through the course website, clonmelraces.ie, using its Buy Badge and Buy Tickets links. Buying ahead of a busy fixture is sensible, and it saves queuing on the day.

Here the guide has to be honest about the gaps. Clonmel does not publish named enclosure tiers, admission price bands or named hospitality package prices in an accessible form, so this guide will not put numbers on them. Any admission price you see quoted should be treated as indicative and likely to vary by fixture, with the November Oil Chase Day and Ladies' Day usually pricier than an ordinary card. Masterchefs Hospitality runs the catering and offers a hospitality flyer, which is the route to hospitality on a feature day.

The single reliable step is to check the current fixture on clonmelraces.ie, where the badge and ticket options for that specific meeting are listed, and to confirm the price and what it includes with the course before you travel. If you want hospitality rather than general admission, ask about the Masterchefs flyer for the fixture you are attending.

Capacity and venue hire

Clonmel is a 160-acre racecourse with mature trees and shrubs in the Suir Valley. Its single biggest crowd draw is not a race meeting at all but the Irish Coursing Club's National Meeting, staged in the centre of the track each February, which the Irish Examiner reported drew a total of about 30,000 people across its three days. For the racing itself, the course does not publish single-day or festival attendance figures or a stated comfortable crowd capacity, so those are recorded as not available below rather than estimated.

Detail	Figure
Site size	160 acres
Race-day crowd capacity	n/a (not published)
National Coursing Meeting (3 days, February)	around 30,000
Named function-room capacities	n/a (not published)

On the events side, the course promotes venue hire alongside its food and beverage offer, including a summer BBQ package, with Masterchefs Hospitality handling catering. Named conference or function rooms and their capacities are not published in an accessible form, so this guide will not list them. If you are looking to hire the venue or book a group space, contact the course directly through clonmelraces.ie for room options, capacities and pricing.

Accessibility

Clonmel's website carries an Accessibility Options page, so the course does address access for disabled racegoers. Beyond the existence of that page, though, the specific provisions are not published in detail. This guide will not assert accessible-parking arrangements, step-free routes, accessible viewing or toilet facilities, or assistance-dog and carer or companion ticket policies, because the course does not confirm them in an accessible form.

The honest advice is to treat access as something to confirm directly. Read the Accessibility Options page on clonmelraces.ie, and phone the course ahead of your visit to check exactly what is available for your needs, particularly accessible parking close to the enclosure, step-free viewing and any carer ticket policy. Ringing ahead also lets staff know to expect you, which tends to make the day run more smoothly.

Food, drink and hospitality

Catering at Clonmel is provided by Masterchefs Hospitality, which offers food and entertainment on raceday and publishes a downloadable hospitality flyer. Alongside the food and beverage offer, the course promotes venue hire and a summer BBQ package, which fits the well-attended summer evening meetings.

The course does not itemise named bars, restaurants or food outlets in an accessible form, so this guide will not list specific venues or menu prices. Any hospitality price you come across should be treated as indicative and likely to vary by fixture, with the November Oil Chase Day and Ladies' Day the most in demand. For a feature day it is worth booking hospitality ahead rather than relying on availability on the day.

The practical route is the Masterchefs hospitality flyer for the fixture you are attending, requested through clonmelraces.ie, which will set out what is on offer and the current pricing. For general admission days, expect standard raceday food and bar service on site, and confirm anything specific with the course beforehand.

The best days to go

Clonmel races year round across about 12 fixtures, mixing jumps and Flat, so there is a day to suit most tastes. Three stand out for a first visit.

The headline fixture is Clonmel Oil Chase Day in November. This is the feature meeting of the year, built around the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase over about two and a half miles, worth 60,000 euro in 2025 and run that year on Thursday 6 November. Its roll of honour reads like a jumps hall of fame, from Dorans Pride's four in a row to Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Imperial Call and War Of Attrition, and it usually shares the card with the Listed TA Morris Memorial Mares Chase. If you want the biggest raceday of the Clonmel year, this is it.

Ladies' Day in early June is the course's social showpiece, with formal wear and fashion encouraged and a lighter, summer feel than the winter jumps cards. It suits a group or a first-timer who wants the occasion as much as the sport.

The summer evening meetings are the third pick. These are well attended, relaxed and long in daylight, and they pair naturally with the course's summer BBQ package. For a low-key introduction to Clonmel on a warm evening, they are hard to beat.

Fixture	When	Why go
Clonmel Oil Chase Day	November	The Grade 2 feature and best jumps card of the year
Ladies' Day	Early June	Fashion, formal wear and the main social occasion
Summer evening meetings	Summer	Relaxed, well-attended evenings in long daylight

Dates move year to year, so check the current calendar on clonmelraces.ie before booking, and see the complete Clonmel guide for more on the racing itself.

What to wear

There is no strict dress code for an ordinary raceday at Clonmel. Comfortable, weather-appropriate clothes are the sensible choice, and because the course is a wooded, undulating site with an outdoor enclosure, footwear that copes with grass and a bit of a climb to the finish will serve you better than anything too delicate. Winter jumps cards in particular can be cold and wet, so layers and a waterproof are worth packing.

The exception is the early-June Ladies' Day, which encourages formal wear and fashion in line with Irish provincial practice. If you are going to that fixture, dressing up is part of the day. For every other meeting, smart casual is more than enough, and nobody will turn you away for keeping it practical. If you are unsure about a specific hospitality area or feature day, check with the course when you book.

Watching from home

If you cannot make it in person, Clonmel racing is covered in both Ireland and the UK by Racing TV, which holds the Irish media rights. That is the day-in, day-out home for Clonmel's fixtures, and it is a subscription service rather than free-to-air, so you will need access through Racing TV to watch a routine card.

The feature Clonmel Oil Chase has also been carried on ITV4 in recent years, first in 2020, which extends free-to-air reach for that one showpiece fixture in November. Do not assume that free-to-air coverage in Ireland or the UK extends to ordinary meetings, though; the everyday cards sit behind Racing TV. Check the listings for the specific date you want, since coverage and channels can change from year to year.

Tips for a first visit

Clonmel is a friendly, manageable provincial course, and a first visit is easy to get right with a little planning. A few pointers specific to the day here.

Buy your badge or ticket ahead through clonmelraces.ie, especially for the November Oil Chase Day, Ladies' Day or a busy summer evening, so you are not queuing at the gate. Because the course sits about two kilometres out on the bypass rather than in the town, sort out how you are getting there and back in advance; a short taxi from Clonmel town is a realistic option if you would rather not drive, and the course does not publish parking detail, so confirm it if you are bringing a car.

Give yourself time before the first race to walk the enclosure, find the parade ring and pick a viewing spot on the home straight, where the uphill finish makes for the best watching. Clonmel is a front-runners' track that produces course specialists, which is an interesting thing to watch play out in the closing stages, though it is a description of how the course rides, not a tip. On money, check whether card is accepted at the bars and bookmakers or whether you want cash on hand, and confirm with the course if in doubt.

A word on betting: treat any bet as part of your entertainment budget, not a way to make money. Over time the bookmakers' margin wins and backing favourites does not show a profit. Set an amount you are happy to lose before you arrive, and enjoy the racing whatever happens.

Where to stay and nearby

Clonmel town is only a couple of kilometres from the course, so it is the natural base for a stay. The town offers hotels within a short drive of Powerstown Park, and the course itself lists a Where to Stay page, which is the place to check current options. For the November Oil Chase Day or Ladies' Day it is worth booking accommodation early, as those are the busiest dates in the Clonmel calendar.

The surrounding Suir Valley gives you plenty to pair with a raceday. Local attractions include the Suir Valley walks, Marlfield Lake bird sanctuary, St Patrick's Well and Carey's Castle, all near the town. That makes an easy weekend: racing on one day, a walk or a visit on the other. For opening times and directions to any of these, check locally, and use the course's Where to Stay page on clonmelraces.ie to line up somewhere to sleep.