Horse Racing Festivals in Ireland 2026

How We Put This Guide Together

Each date on this page has been confirmed by checking it against the official fixture list of Horse Racing Ireland and the official event pages of each racecourse, as opposed to those offered by third-party websites. Eamon Doggett has visited all of the race meetings featured on this page and uses his expertise to provide the tips for each meeting. Provisional dates, if any, will be mentioned.

For betting tips read our horse racing betting guide.

Irish Horse Racing Festivals: 2026 Month-by-Month Calendar

The horse racing season in Ireland for 2026 will run throughout the year on flat and jumps (National Hunt) fixtures and there will be approximately 390 race meetings taking place at 26 racecourses. The following table gives a snapshot of each major race course festival on a monthly basis so that you can schedule your plans.

All dates verified against Horse Racing Ireland and individual racecourse fixture lists as of September2026. Fixtures are occasionally subject to change. Always confirm with the racecourse before travelling.

The Top 7 Racing Festivals in Ireland

Ireland boasts some of the most lively and fiercely contested horseracing meets that one can find anywhere. Each one of these meetings is uniquely rich in terms of being a sporting experience, historical tradition, and social event. Here are the seven I would recommend to any betting enthusiast or racing lover to attend.

1. Fairyhouse Easter Festival

📅 April 4-6, 2026 📍 Fairyhouse Road, Ballybin, Ratoath, Co. Meath

Unlike many other meetings, which tend to move their date every year, the Fairyhouse Easter Festival is held in the first week of April annually ever since 1870 when Irish Grand National was first run at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. Among its most famous champions are Arkle (who became an unbeatable champion carrying 12 stone in 1964), Flyingbolt, Tied Cottage, Brown Lad and Desert Orchid. It is a prestigious race in terms of its purse as it is the biggest Irish National Hunt handicap.

Three miles, five furlongs and 24 fences make for an exciting contest that requires not only great stamina but also quite a bit of luck. Easter Monday racing is usually crowded with day trippers from Dublin; thus, it is not uncommon to witness fancy fashion, hospitality and family-friendly atmosphere here while a less crowded Easter Sunday programme features such a big race as Grade 1 novice chase WillowWarm Gold Cup.

From the perspective of betting, the Grand National is definitely one of the trickiest races to bet on due to huge fields and great distance, which produce many long shots as the winners – e.g. Lord Lariat (2022, 40/1) and Freewheelin Dylan (2021, 150/1). Bet rather on horses with great staying ability running with small weights.

Ticket and general information is available on Fairyhouse's official website and social channels, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

📖 Read our full Irish horse racing betting guide.

2. Punchestown Irish National Hunt Festival

📅 April 28 – May 2, 2026 📍 Punchestown, Naas, Co. Kildare

Punchestown Racecourse is the spiritual home of Irish jump racing. Established in 1850, this five-day festival is the finale of the National Hunt season – once the Cheltenham Festival is over, Irish racing fans look ahead to this racecourse, where the best chasers and hurdlers clash in pursuit of some of the most valuable prize money.

Hosting 12 Grade 1 races with the Punchestown Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle among them, Punchestown Racecourse provides an opportunity to see re-matches between the latest additions and Cheltenham veterans carrying wounds inflicted on them at the beginning of the month. It is a week of celebration – the highest level of horse racing combined with music, fashion, and, perhaps, even spring sun for thousands of people attending.

As regards betting, Willie Mullins has dominated this meeting in recent seasons and following his runners at short odds in Grade 1 races usually proves to be a successful strategy. Better value can be found among highly competitive handicap hurdles races, featuring lightly-raced newcomers that avoided tough tests of the Cheltenham meeting.

Ticket and general information is available on Punchestown's website and social channels, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

📖 Read our full Punchestown Festival betting guide.

3. The Curragh Irish Derby Festival

📅 June 26–28, 2026 📍 Curragh Racecourse, Newbridge, Co. Kildare

The Curragh Irish Derby Festival is the ultimate prize within Irish Flat racing. First staged in 1866, the Grade 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is Ireland’s most prestigious Classic event. Run over a mile and a half, this race has considerable international importance, typically representing the second battle for horses that contested the first one in Epsom weeks before.

Being one of the best three-year-old Classics in Europe, the event attracts some of the best talent from top British, French, and international string of horses, competing against the Irish horse industry. In conjunction with newly-refurbished stands, the three-day event also represents one of the biggest social occasions in Ireland during the summer period, complete with luxury hospitality and top fashion.

From the betting perspective, the Irish Derby is known to be highly biased towards class and pedigree – those market favorites and Epsom form horses tend to perform very well at the race. However, the main action takes place on the supporting cards, where handicaps, such as Rockingham, attract plenty of value bets.

Ticket and general information is available on the Curragh's website and social channels, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

📖 Read our full Irish Derby betting guide.

4. Galway Races Summer Festival

📅 July 27 – August 2, 2026 📍 Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit, Co. Galway

The Galway Races is possibly the most popular and loved racing festival in Ireland and dates back to 1869. Over seven glorious days, "Race Week" in Ballybrit comes to an abrupt halt with its distinctive mixture of Flat and National Hunt racing. Two signature races include legendary mid-summer handicap contests: Galway Plate (held on Wednesday) and Galway Hurdle (held on Thursday).

All accommodation in Galway is reserved well before "Race Week" but the visitors will be amply rewarded for their planning skills – they will have an experience of a lifetime watching tens of thousands people filling the stands each day and pouring into pubs of Galway long after darkness falls.

Picking winners at Ballybrit requires a unique approach. Narrow and hilly track features a steep downhill bend towards a very short straight. Course performance and speed analysis is crucial here. Low starting position becomes an advantage in Flat handicaps while lightly raced runners from strong yards, such as Willie Mullins or Gordon Elliott, can become a decisive factor in large jump races.

Ticket, results and general information can be found on the Galway Races website and social channels, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

📖 Read our full Galway Races betting guide.

5. The Listowel Harvest Festival

📅 September 20–26, 2026 📍 Listowel Racecourse, Tralee Road, Co. Kerry

The Listowel Harvest Festival takes place in the historic Kerry town known for its association with playwright John B. Keane. It was founded back in 1858 and takes place every September over a period of seven days. This meeting is notable for being the transition point from Flat races in late summer to jumps races in autumn.

Listowel has a particularly informal and cozy setting – moving around among betting rings, outdoor pubs, and music sessions is no problem at all, and there is always the opportunity to enjoy the pageantry, beauty contests, and good hospitality on offer in the town itself.

Soft ground is virtually guaranteed to appear due to the arrival of autumn rains in Kerry, so the "mud-larks" and stamina horses should come first in your search. In case of the Kerry National, it is usually the horses racing near the pace who are underrepresented and outperform their strongly backed opponents.

Ticket and general information is available on Listowel's website and social channels, including Facebook and Twitter.

6. Dublin Racing Festival

📅 January 31 – February 1, 2026 📍 Leopardstown Racecourse, Foxrock, Dublin 18

Dublin Racing Festival is fast becoming one of the most important weekends in the National Hunt season. Starting life as an event in 2018 and taking place over two busy days in early February, the Dublin Racing Festival has become the perfect platform for Irish horses who will go onto Cheltenham. There are eight Grade 1 races, which include the Irish Gold Cup and Irish Champion Hurdle.

Leopardstown Racecourse is a special place. It's a combination of high-class jumping and the vibrant nightlife of Dublin, music, street food, and the country’s best trainers bring their horses in town to hone their champions and make Cheltenham-style action in the heart of Dublin.

For bettors, the DRF is a great event for form study because with all these Grade 1 horses, the short-priced favorites do really well. The biggest value is in the ante-post doubles/multiples connecting Dublin win to their Cheltenham race.

Ticket and general information is available on Dublin Racing Festival's website and social channels, including Facebook and Twitter.

7. Leopardstown Christmas Festival

📅 December 26–29, 2026 📍 Leopardstown Racecourse, Foxrock, Dublin 18

For decades, St. Stephen’s Day visit to Foxrock has been a mandatory part of the holidays for Irish racing enthusiasts. Lasting for four days, from December 26 to 29, Leopardstown Christmas Festival includes seven Grade 1 races highlighted by Savills Chase and Christmas Hurdle.

Aside from horse racing itself, it is a big event as far as socialization goes – an opportunity to lift one’s spirits after the Christmas holiday with winter fashion competitions, crowded marquee bars and betting against bookmakers.

Winter track conditions can be expected on Leopardstown race track in late December, so you may expect hard-working stayers that excel in soft-ground races to perform in Savills Chase, while unexposed maiden hurdlers from Willie Mullins’ team have a traditional advantage in early races throughout the four-day period.

Ticket and general information is available on Leopardstown's website and social channels, including Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram.

Every Other Irish Racing Festival in 2026

The seven above are the meetings I'd build a trip around, but Ireland's racing calendar runs far deeper than that. Here's the full spread of festival fixtures across 2026:

All dates checked against Horse Racing Ireland's fixture list and individual racecourse pages as of August 2026. Fixtures can be subject to late changes.

Use our horse racing betting calculator

Once you've picked out which festival you're betting on, it's worth working out your potential returns before you place anything. Our horse racing bet calculator handles win, place, each-way and multiple bets, so you can check exactly what a Galway Plate each-way punt or a Cheltenham-to-Dublin-Racing-Festival double would pay out at your bookies odds before you place your bet.