Following a period of consultation, Galway Races announces a number of changes to the 2025 Summer Festival race schedule. The headline change sees the Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle, over 2 miles, traditionally ran on Friday, move to Saturday, 2^nd August. This change is aimed at enhancing opportunities for participation, as declarations for this race will now take place on Thursday morning, after the final field for Thursday’s Galway Hurdle has been confirmed.

As a result of this change, the Beginners Steeplechase, for five-year-olds and up, over 2 miles and 6 furlongs, will move from Thursday to Friday 1^st August and the Nursery Handicap, over 7-furlongs previously run on Saturday, will now take place on Thursday 31^st July.

These changes reflect Galway Races’ and Horse Racing Ireland’s ongoing commitment to providing a dynamic and responsive race programme that meets the evolving needs of the racing community.

This year’s Summer Festival will see the running of 53 races, over 7 days with an increased total prize fund of €2,171,000 and a minimum value of €17,000 for all races together with a feature race of at least €110,000 per day. This year’s Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle will both be valued at €270,000.

With just 8 weeks to go, the Galway Races looks forward to welcoming the industry and racegoers alike, to another highly anticipated week at the Galway Races Summer Festival, Monday 28^th July – Sunday 3^rd August.

See you in Ballybrit.