Thurles Racecourse

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Thurles Racecourse
Thurles Racecourse Logo.png
Location Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland
Coordinates 52°40′44″N 7°48′50″W
Owned byThe Molony Family [1]
Date opened1732
Screened on Racing TV [2]
Course type National Hunt
Notable races Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase
Coolmore N. H. Sires Capri Mares Novice Chase
Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle
Attendance17,273 (2023) [3]

Thurles Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the town of Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland which stages National Hunt racing.

Contents

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. [4] 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, after Pierce's death, his daughters Patricia, Helen, Anne Marie and Kate, took charge of Thurles alongside their mother Riona. [5] [6]

In more recent times, Thurles hosted 11 fixtures between October and March each year. The course was 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 include Honeysuckle and Sizing John. [7] [8] In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Thurles featured on British free to air television channel ITV whilst racing in Great Britain was postponed. [9]

In February 2025, Irish jockey Michael O'Sullivan died following a fall at Thurles Racecourse earlier that month. [10]

On 1 August 2025, it was announced by the owners, the Molony family that the course had closed with immediate effect. [11] [12] On 28 August Horse Racing Ireland announced that they would be taking over the operation of the racecourse and that it would remain open until March 2026. [13]

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 [14] [15]

Notable races

MonthDOWRace NameTypeGradeDistanceAge/Sex
JanuarySunday Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase ChaseGrade 22m 4½f6yo +
JanuarySunday Coolmore N. H. Sires Capri Mares Novice Chase ChaseGrade 22m 4½f5yo + m
FebruaryThursday Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle HurdleGrade 22m 4f5yo +
MarchSaturday Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase ChaseGrade 32m 2f5yo +
NovemberThursday John Meagher Memorial Chase ChaseListed2m 6f5yo +

References

  1. ↑ "All you need to know about Ireland's only family-owned racecourse". racingpost.com.
  2. ↑ "Racing TV Irish service will not be affected until Gambling Bill implementation". racingtv.com.
  3. ↑ "HRI Factbook 2023" (PDF). hri.ie.
  4. ↑ "History". thurlesraces.ie.
  5. ↑ McClean, Donn (January 2022). "A Family Affair". Racing TV Club Magazine. No. 13. Racing TV.
  6. ↑ "unique-place-in-irish-racing-held-by-thurles". theirishfield.ie.
  7. ↑ "All you need to know about Ireland's only family-owned racecourse". racingpost.com.
  8. ↑ "Thurles Horse Racing Results". attheraces.com.
  9. ↑ "Thurles delight as Saturday fixture tops ITV4 coverage on poignant day for track". racingpost.com.
  10. ↑ "Michael O'Sullivan: Irish jockey dies after Thurles fall". BBC Sport. 16 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "Thurles racecourse closes with immediate effect". RTE Sport. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Thurles racecourse to close with immediate effect". Racing Post. 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Jennings, David (28 August 2025). "Thurles racecourse saved from immediate closure with Horse Racing Ireland to take control". Racing Post.
  14. ↑ "Course Profile". Go Racing. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Thurles Course Guide". attheraces.com.

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