The Curragh Racecourse

The Curragh Racecourse is the home of Irish flat racing. It hosts all five of the Irish Classics, as well as the majority of other Irish Group 1 races. Usually referred to just as “the Curragh”, it is located on the Curragh plain near Newbridge in County Kildare .

In 2008, the Curragh will again host the three-day Irish Derby Festival, with the eagerly-awaited Irish Derby itself raced on Sunday, 29 June.

For the Irish Derby Festival, the Curragh Racecourse divides its usual single grandstand enclosure into two separate enclosures. It offers four main categories of admission:

• Reserved Enclosure - access to the main grandstand, parade ring and champagne bar
• West End Enclosure - access to the Star Sunday Party Zone Marquee, but no parade ring access
• Premier Level - access to the top floor of the grandstand, without reserved seating
• Premier Level - access with reserved seating

See Irish Derby tickets for ticket prices and booking information.

The Curragh Track

The Curragh Racecourse is a horseshoe-shaped circuit of two miles, with a run in of three furlongs and an uphill finish. The five and six furlongs are straight. An adjoining chute feeds into the home straight, which stages races of up to one mile.

Curragh Facilities

Restaurants And Hospitality

Curragh includes five public bars, two restaurants that offer fine dining, a self-service restaurant, a Thai food outlet, a diner and a huge range of snack and fast-food outlets. A large range of private suites, seating from 10 to 300, are available for corporate guests.

See Curragh hospitality for details of restaurants and hospitality options available for the Irish Derby Festival.

Facilities For Children

At the west end of the grandstand is an outdoor playground for children, a picnic area and a crèche supervised by qualified staff.

Disabled Access

All areas of the course are accessible by wheelchair, and a special viewing area for disabled spectators is available alongside the parade ring, just past the winning post.

The Curragh is currently undergoing massive redevelopment, with a new grandstand, superior facilities and a hotel all in the pipeline. However, Curragh management has staggered the redevelopment project to ensure that it won’t interfere with any of the scheduled 2008 races - ten of which are Group 1 races.

Don’t miss the 2008 Irish Derby, when the crème de la crème of European thoroughbreds go head to head in one of the most exciting races of the season.