Limerick Racecourse
Munster's modern dual-purpose course at Greenmount Park
Limerick Racecourse sits at Greenmount Park, Patrickswell, around 6km south of Limerick city in Co. Limerick, just off the M20. Opened in October 2001, it was the first purpose-built racecourse in Ireland in over 50 years, replacing the old Greenpark course in the city. It is a dual-purpose track staging both Flat and National Hunt racing across roughly 18 fixtures a year. The course is a right-handed, galloping oval of about a mile and three furlongs, with notable undulations: a stiff climb in the back straight, a downhill run into the home straight and a slight rise over the final two furlongs, making it a testing track to ride. Its signature meeting is the four-day Limerick Christmas Festival, headlined by the Grade 1 Faugheen Novice Chase, the first Grade 1 staged in Munster.
Racing at Limerick today
- 5:25Party Time And Limerick Motor Centre Rated Race6.5f11 runners
- 6:00Ei Electronics Handicap (0-60)6.5f14 runners
- 6:30DAR Golf And Mann Family Handicap (0-60)6.5f14 runners
- 7:00Heating Engineer Supplies Maiden8f6 runners
- 7:30Conference & Banqueting Facilities At Limerick Median Auction Fillies Maiden12.5f9 runners
- 8:00Panoramic Restaurant At Limerick Racecourse Apprentice Handicap (0-60)12.5f12 runners
- 8:30Private Suites At Limerick Racecourse Handicap12.5f6 runners
The track
Right-handed · TurfLimerick is a right-handed, galloping oval of roughly a mile and three furlongs (about 11 furlongs). It is an undulating circuit: a stiff, steep climb up the back straight, then a downhill run to the home turn before a finishing straight of around three furlongs that rises slightly over the final couple of furlongs. The run-in for chases is short, roughly a furlong. The configuration suits galloping, staying types that handle an uphill emphasis; on quicker ground a low draw and pace help on the Flat.
History
Racing in the Limerick area dates back over two centuries, the present course being the seventh local venue since 1790. Its immediate predecessor, Greenpark near the city, ran for about 130 years before closing in 1999. The modern track at Greenmount Park, Patrickswell, was built on land bought in 1996 and opened in October 2001, billed as Ireland's first purpose-built racecourse in 50 years. It is a dual-purpose venue, staging both National Hunt and Flat fixtures through the year.
Big races and festivals
The course's headline meeting is its four-day Christmas Festival (26-29 December), built around jumps racing. Its flagship is the Faugheen Novice Chase, a Grade 1 now run on the third day of the festival (28 December, having been moved off its traditional St Stephen's Day slot); established in 1993 as the Greenmount Park Novice Chase, it was upgraded to Grade 1 in 2018 and renamed in 2020. Supporting graded races include the Dawn Run (Grade 2) and Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle (Grade 2). Outside Christmas, Limerick stages further graded novice events but is otherwise a mid-tier dual-purpose track.
Visiting Limerick
Limerick Racecourse sits at Greenmount Park, near the village of Patrickswell, County Limerick, roughly six miles (about 10km) south of Limerick city. By road it is reached off the M20 at exit 4. Limerick (Colbert) railway station, on Parnell Street in the city, is around 15 minutes away by road. It is a modern, purpose-built venue with the family-oriented Christmas Festival its busiest occasion; the final festival day is run as a family fun day.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, attheraces.com, en.wikipedia.org, racingpost.com, sportinglife.com, goracing.ie
Limerick by the numbers
385 races · 4,217 runners · 2023-10-21 to 2026-06-19The favourite
Over 385 races the market favourite won 34.8%. A level stake to starting price returned -14.4% (95% CI -27.1% to -2.0%).
Even the favourite loses here: the whole confidence interval sits below zero. Across all Irish racing the favourite returned -13.1% to SP (95% CI -16.1% to -10.1%); backing favourites is the least-losing simple bet, never a winning one.
Going
- Heavy26%
- Good22.6%
- Soft to Heavy15.6%
- Yielding to Soft9.6%
- Soft9.1%
- Yielding9.1%
Field size
Average 11 runners (median 11), ranging 3 to 18.
Draw on the Flat
Win rate by draw third across Flat races with a recorded stall.
SP only (no Betfair SP for Irish racing); horses deduped by name string; fallers and pulled-up settle as losses; favourite splits joint-favourites; to Starting Price, level stakes. ROI carries a race-bootstrapped 95% CI; small per-course samples are noisy, so treat a CI that crosses zero as no signal.
Explore Limerick
In-depth guides to Limerick — the track, the racing, the history and visiting.
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