Ballybrit Race Track, also known as Galway Racecourse, is a horse race course in County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the townland of Ballybrit, in the environs of Castlegar, just north of the N6 Bóthar na dTreabh, c.6 km northeast of Galway city.
The track has two stands, the Main Stand and Millennium Stand.
The seven-day Galway Races Festival is held here every August.
Other meetings are held here in September (2 days), early October (1 day) and over the last weekend in October (3 days).
Ballybrit is a right-handed course of about one mile and three furlongs, with a steep decline into the dip where the last two fences are situated. There is a sharp incline to the finish line.
The first meeting was held in 1869.[1][2]
As part of his visit to Ireland in 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated mass at the racecourse for two hundred and eighty thousand people.[2] The then Mayor of Galway, Michéal Ó hUiginn, conferred the Freedom of Galway upon the Pontiff.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, the racecourse was used as a mass vaccination centre.[3]
| Month | DOW | Race Name | Type | Grade | Distance | Age/Sex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July/Aug | Wednesday | Galway Plate | Chase | Handicap | 2m 6f | 4yo + |
| July/Aug | Thursday | Galway Hurdle | Hurdle | Handicap | 2m | 4yo + |
| October | Sunday | Ballybrit Novice Chase | Chase | Grade 3 | 2m 1f | 4yo + |