History of Limerick Racecourse
In the 221 years following the establishment of the first Limerick racecourse in 1790, seven different local venues were used to stage various forms of horse racing. Its predecessors included locations in Bruff, Rathkeale, Newcastle, Lemonfield, Ballinacurra and Greenpark. In fact, the last venue at Green Park, which closed in 1999, had successfully staged horse racing for one hundred and thirty years. The march of time finally caught up with the city track, as it became enveloped in the city's urban sprawl and a new location was sought.
Limerick Racecourse found a new home at Greenmount Park when it was purchased in 1996. Six kilometres from the city boundaries near the village of Patrickswell, with nearly 400 acres of prime greenbelt farmland, Greenmount was a natural choice, with a panoramic setting at which local point-to-point meetings had been held for as long as local memory served. While the site topography was ideal for unobstructed views across the racetrack, the site posed challenges for the civil works of the project, due to a fall of 27.5m across the site, and dealing with the requirement for a 12.0m drop over only 70.0m. Significant cut and fill was required across the site to prepare the ground for the specialist surfaces for this Category 1 racetrack, in addition to all associated roads, 2000 car spaces and substantial drainage infrastructure, including a precast concrete underpass.
The Grandstand is the main feature structure on the site and includes a cantilevered truss roof, providing shelter over the spectator terraces. Other site structures include an entrance building with office and bar facilities and the essential stable facilities, located ideally beside the central parade ring, all completed to the highest of specifications.
The development of the racecourse at Greenmount has provided the opportunity for Limerick to have one of the best facilities in the country for horse racing. The complete racecourse layout was designed from scratch. This is the first new racecourse in Ireland in over 60 years, and it provided the design team with a challenge to achieve the full possibilities that this rare opportunity offered. Opening in October 2001, the inaugural meeting attracted a crowd of over 18,000 race goers. Having recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, Limerick Racecourse is known as one of the country's premier hourse racing destinations.
The Track
Limerick Racecourse stages both flat and national hunt racing.The flat and hurdles course is a right-handed oval measuring approximately one mile three furlongs in circumference. On its back straight, the course climbs twenty metres over a three furlong section. From near the end of the back straight, the course begins to descend, and this continues around the home turn and on the first part of the home straight. The course then has a slight climb up to the winning post.
The total width of the racing circuit is around seventy metres, so for meetings with consecutive days of racing, fresh ground can be provided by moving the running rails. With its good width and cambered bends, the course can accommodate up to thirty runners in a single race.The hurdles course has a total of six flights. Four of the hurdles are positioned in the back straight, with the remaining two being located prior to the winning post in the home straight.
The steeplechase course has seven fences laid out in the following circuit pattern: in the back straight, an initial plain fence, the first open ditch, two more plain fences, and the second open ditch, the circuit is completed by two plain fences located prior to the winning post in the home straight. With the majority of hurdles and fences being situated on the back straight climb, Limerick Racecourse is considered a stiff test, and in soft or heavy going, stamina is preferred to pace. For more information with regards to Limerick Racecourse, please give us a call on 061-320000 and we would be delighted to answer any of your queries.
