Galway Racecourse

Galway is a right-handed, sharp and undulating circuit of roughly one mile and a quarter to one mile and three furlongs. Sources describe an easy enough run for much of the way before a steep descent into a dip and a sharp bend, followed by a demanding, steeply uphill finish (the chase run-in is over two furlongs), giving the track one of the stiffest finishes in Ireland. On the chase course the last two fences sit very close together before a long run-in, making them notably tricky; the hurdles run on a tight inner course. The combination of sharp turns, the downhill-then-uphill profile and a punishing run-in tends to produce course specialists, favouring handy, well-balanced horses with stamina in reserve and previous experience of the venue, rather than one particular running style.

Organised racing came to Ballybrit when the first meeting was held on Tuesday 17 August 1869, a two-day fixture that reportedly drew around 40,000 people. Captain Wilson Lynch of Renmore gave the land free of charge, and the roughly mile-and-a-half course was laid out by civil engineer T. Waters. The Galway Plate dates from that inaugural meeting. The festival expanded steadily: to three days in 1959, four in 1971, five in 1974, six in 1982 and seven in 1999. Major grandstand redevelopment followed, with the Millennium Stand opening in 1999 and the Killanin Stand in 2007. Ballybrit also hosted Pope John Paul II's Mass during his 1979 visit to Ireland.

The Galway Races Summer Festival is the racecourse's defining event, running seven days from the last Monday of July into early August and attracting in excess of 150,000 spectators across the week. Its two signature races both fall midweek. The Galway Plate, a Grade A handicap steeplechase over about two miles six and a half furlongs, is run on the Wednesday and dates back to the first 1869 meeting. The Galway Hurdle, a high-value handicap hurdle over roughly two miles first run in 1913, is run on the Thursday alongside the festival's Ladies' Day, traditionally one of the busiest and most social days of the week. Together these handicaps draw large, competitive fields and are among the most prestigious summer National Hunt prizes in Ireland.

The racecourse sits at Ballybrit, around six kilometres north-east of Galway city centre near Castlegar, in County Galway in the west of Ireland. It is most easily reached by road, with the M6 and M17 to M18 motorways linking Galway to Dublin, Limerick and the wider network; festival-week shuttle buses typically run from the city. The nearest mainline rail and bus services are at Galway's Ceannt Station in the city centre, from where onward transfers reach the course. The venue's principal grandstands are the Millennium Stand and the Killanin Stand, the latter's terrace accommodating several thousand spectators. The festival is famed for its lively, carnival-like atmosphere combining racing, fashion and entertainment.