For the past 151 years, Galway Racecourse has proudly hosted to one of the greatest race meetings in the world, the famous and iconic Galway Races Summer Festival that takes place over seven days, next year from Monday 26th July to Sunday 1st August 2021. Known as ‘race week’ locally, our Festival traditionally draws hundreds of thousands of people from all over Ireland and worldwide.
This year in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for health and safety reasons, we made the difficult but right decision to race behind closed doors, and unfortunately the event as you may know, was not open to the public.
While we were hugely disappointed that our loyal racegoers and families could not be here with us in person, we thank you most sincerely for supporting us and tuning into RTE television, Racing TV and via our social media channels.
We look forward to welcoming you all back here to Ballybrit when it is safe to do so. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch with us. Your support is very much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Moloney
Turnstiles open two hours before the first race on the day. This gives you a chance to explore your surroundings before racing kicks off. Restaurant and Bar facilities will be open.
The racecard also known as a race programme can be purchased from any of the racecard booths within the enclosure. The racecard is invaluable as it provides the details of each race including the runners past form and also explains how to bet.
When you have decided on your horse, bets can be placed at any Tote outlet, with the bookies in the bookies ring or in the onsite Ladbrokes SP Office.
ATM machines are on site for your convenience.
We have a fantastic line up of live bands and DJ’s for this Summers Festival all of which is provided throughout the race day.
Enjoy the excitement of seeing your horse romp home in the comfort of the Killanin Stand or the Millennium Stand. To get closer to the action you can watch the race from behind the railing. Big Screens are also on site for your convenience.
Seating in the numbered tiered seating balcony in the Millennium Stand which boasts a fantastic view of the winning post can be purchased from a kiosk at the back of the Millennium Stand.
Regrettably, dogs other than Guide Dogs are not allowed within the racecourse
Please would racegoers kindly note that the bringing of your own alcohol drink into the Racecourse is strictly prohibited. For your own enjoyment and to avoid disappointment please observe this restriction. Please respect our neighbours when leaving the racecourse. No alcohol to be taken off site.
Children 17 & Under are admitted free of charge but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian for admission and for the duration of the race day. For student admission, you must be over 18 years of age and hold a valid student I.D.
We have a strict ID policy on site and the following are accepted as ID for the bars and cigarettes. Please note that ID is required at all bars at Galway Racecourse. It is required by law that anyone between the ages of 18-21 are required to carry ID. Any ID that has been doctored in any way will be confiscated and given to the Gardaí.
The accepted forms of ID are:
We are always pleased to hear from our customers and are grateful for any feedback you can provide about your visit. Please email us your comments to information@galwayraces.com as we value your interest in our racecourse and experience.
In the event of the race meeting on the day being abandoned before the start of the 2nd race, patrons will be issued with a voucher to the value of the admission price on the day, which can be redeemed to that value only to gain entry at any of our next race meetings. Should the meeting be abandoned after the start of the 2nd race there will be no refunds made. In either event, there will be no cash refunds.
Children under 14 years will not be permitted in the Parade Ring.