Curragh Racecourse

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The Curragh

Location	Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
Coordinates	53°9′55″N 6°50′43″W / 53.16528°N 6.84528°W / 53.16528; -6.84528Coordinates: 53°9′55″N 6°50′43″W / 53.16528°N 6.84528°W / 53.16528; -6.84528
Race type	Thoroughbred Flat
Notable races	Irish 1,000 Guineas (G1) Irish 2,000 Guineas (G1) Irish Derby (G1) Irish Oaks (G1) Irish St. Leger (G1)
Official website

The Curragh Racecourse, usually referred to as simply The Curragh, is Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourse. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Racing
  


• 
  3 Notable races
  


• 
  4 Transport
  
  • 
    4.1 Bus and coach
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Former railway stations
    
  
  


• 
  5 References
  


• 
  6 External links
  

History

The name "Curragh" comes from the Irish (Gaeilge) word Cuirreach, meaning "place of the running horse". The first recorded race on the plain took place in 1727, but it was used for races before then.^[1] The first Derby was held in 1866, and in 1868 the Curragh was officially declared a horse racing and training facility by act of parliament.

Racing

The course is right-handed, about two miles long and horseshoe-shaped. Races up to one mile are run on a straight course. Additionally there are several training facilities on the site.

The Curragh offers the highest purses and highest quality level of flat racing in Ireland. In 2007, ten of Ireland's twelve Group One races were held at the track.

The racecourse in 2007

Notable races

Month	DOW	Race Name	Type	Grade	Distance	Age/Sex
March	Sunday	Park Express Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m	3yo + f
April	Sunday	Gladness Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	3yo +
May	Monday	Athasi Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	3yo +
May	Monday	Mooresbridge Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 2f	4yo +
May	Monday	Tetrarch Stakes	Flat	Listed	7f	3yo only
May	Saturday	Ridgewood Pearl Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m	4yo + f
May	Saturday	Irish 2,000 Guineas	Flat	Group 1	1m	3yo only
May	Saturday	Greenlands Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f	3yo +
May	Sunday	Irish 1,000 Guineas	Flat	Group 1	1m	3yo only f
May	Sunday	Gallinule Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 2f	3yo only
May	Sunday	Tattersalls Gold Cup	Flat	Group 1	1m 2f 110y	4yo +
June	Friday	International Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 2f	3yo +
June	Saturday	Irish Derby	Flat	Group 1	1m 4f	3yo only
June	Saturday	Railway Stakes	Flat	Group 2	6f	2yo only
June	Saturday	Sapphire Stakes	Flat	Group 3	5f	3yo +
June	Sunday	Curragh Cup	Flat	Group 3	1m 6f	3yo +
June	Sunday	Pretty Polly Stakes	Flat	Group 1	1m 2f	3yo + f
June	Sunday	Balanchine Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f	2yo only f
July	Saturday	Anglesey Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f 63y	2yo only
July	Saturday	Minstrel Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	3yo +
July	Saturday	Irish Oaks	Flat	Group 1	1m 4f	3yo only f
July	Sunday	Kilboy Estate Stakes	Flat	Group 2	1m 1f	3yo + f
August	Sunday	Phoenix Sprint Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f	3yo +
August	Sunday	Phoenix Stakes	Flat	Group 1	6f	2yo only
August	Sunday	Debutante Stakes	Flat	Group 2	7f	2yo only
August	Sunday	Royal Whip Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 2f	3yo +
August	Saturday	Futurity Stakes	Flat	Group 2	7f	2yo only
August	Saturday	Flying Five Stakes	Flat	Group 3	5f	3yo +
August	Saturday	Curragh Stakes	Flat	Listed	5f	2yo only
August	Saturday	Irish St Leger Trial Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 6f	3yo +
September	Sunday	Moyglare Stud Stakes	Flat	Group 1	7f	2yo only f
September	Sunday	Lanwades Stud Fillies' Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 1f	3yo + f
September	Sunday	Round Tower Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f	2yo only
September	Saturday	Renaissance Stakes	Flat	Group 3	6f	3yo +
September	Saturday	Blandford Stakes	Flat	Group 2	1m 2f	3yo + f
September	Sunday	Vincent O'Brien Stakes	Flat	Group 1	7f	2yo only
September	Sunday	Solonaway Stakes	Flat	Group 2	1m	3yo +
September	Sunday	Irish St. Leger	Flat	Group 1	1m 6f	3yo +
September	Sunday	C. L. Weld Park Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	2yo only f
September	Sunday	Beresford Stakes	Flat	Group 2	1m	2yo only

All five Irish classics are run at The Curragh.

Transport

Bus and coach

On race days, there are shuttle buses from Kildare railway station to The Curragh. Dublin Coach's routes to Portlaoise and Ennis also serve the racecourse on these days.^[2]

Former railway stations

The racecourse was once served by two railway stations: Curragh Mainline on the main Dublin–Cork line, which opened in 1846, and Curragh Racecourse at the end of a short branch to the grandstand, which opened in 1875. Curragh Racecourse station closed in 1977 and the branch was subsequently lifted, while Curragh Mainline fell into disuse in the early 2000s.^[3][4]

References

1. 
   ^ Curragh.ie – About/History
   


2. 
   ^ "Go to the Races – Bus Services to Curragh Racecourse". Dublin Coach. Retrieved 19 September 2016. 
   


3. 
   ^ Ayres, Bob (2003). "Irish Railway Stations" (PDF). Railscot. Retrieved 23 September 2007. 
   


4. 
   ^ "Curragh". eiretrains.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016. 
   

External links

• Curragh.ie – Official site


• Pattern race calendar can on Horse Racing Ireland's site

v t e Horse racing in Ireland
Venues	National Hunt Kilbeggan Punchestown Wexford Flat The Curragh Dundalk Laytown Mixed Ballinrobe Ballybrit (Galway) Bellewstown Clonmel Cork Down Royal Downpatrick Fairyhouse Gowran Park Killarney Leopardstown Listowel Limerick Navan Naas Roscommon Sligo Thurles Tipperary Tramore Former Venues Baldoyle Greenpark Mullingar Phoenix Park Tralee Tuam
Named races	List of Irish flat horse races List of Irish National Hunt races
Regulation	Horse Racing Ireland Turf Club Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board
Other bodies	Irish National Stud Racing Academy and Centre of Education