Thurles Racecourse is a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

venue in the town of

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

racing.

History

The first recorded race meeting at Thurles occurred in 1732, as noted in a Trinity College document called “Pues Occurances”. The meeting was a three day festival. In the early days of Thurles, there were four race meetings in February, April, June and November, with just 20 stables on site. Since the early 1900s, Thurles has been owned by the Molony family, who still own and operate the course today. Pierce Molony took over the course from a local committee before his son Paddy became manager, and then his son Pierce took over in 1974. In 2015, Pierce's daughters Patricia, Helen, Anne Marie and Kate, took charge of Thurles alongside their mother Riona. In more recent times, Thurles hosts 11 fixtures between October and March each year. The course is noted for its resilient ground there can be raced on after all but exceptional amounts of rainfall and it can withstand a large amount of racing during the winter months. Hosting three Grade 2 races, the most significant of which is the Kinloch Brae Chase in January. The race has been won by the likes of Native Upmanship, Newmill, Hi Cloy and Don Cossack. Other notable horses to have raced at Thurles on their way to

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

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Sizing John Sizing John (foaled 13 May 2010) is a British-bred, Irish trained thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is trained by Jessica Harrington and owned by Ann and Alan Potts, and is best known for winning the Cheltenham Gold ...

. In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Thurles featured on British free to air television channel ITV whilst racing in Great Britain was postponed. In February 2025, Irish jockey Michael O'Sullivan died following a fall at Thurles Racecourse earlier that month.

Course

The course is located 1.5 km west of the town centre. The course is an oval right handed track of one and a quarter miles with 6 flights of hurdles and 7 steeplechase fences in each circuit with a steep uphill finish. The course is noted for being sharp and undulating

Notable races

References

External links

Official websiteGo Racing ProfileRacing Post Profile
{{coord missing, County Tipperary Horse racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Race Sports venues in County Tipperary Sports venues completed in 1732