Kilbeggan Racecourse

About the course

Kilbeggan Racecourse sits at Loughnagore, about 1.6km north of Kilbeggan town centre in Co. Westmeath. Racing here goes back to March 1840, when a group of local gentlemen organised a race for a Challenge Cup worth 40 guineas. The meeting moved to its present site in 1901 and has been held every year since, apart from 1941 to 1945.

Kilbeggan has staged only National Hunt racing since 1971. The course is a right-handed, undulating circuit of about one mile and one furlong, with sharp turns and an uphill finish, so runners are nearly always on a bend and it asks a lot of the jockeys.

It is also a community course. Kilbeggan is run by volunteers, and the racecourse says meetings have grown from three a year in 1992 to around ten, with attendance reaching about 50,000 in 2024. A pavilion with restaurants and bars opened in 1999.

Big meetings and races

Kilbeggan is very much a summer track, and most of its meetings are held in the evening, which makes it a good after-work outing from the Midlands or Dublin. In 2026 the season began in late April and ran through the summer, with a bank holiday Sunday afternoon card at the end of May.

The highlight is the Midlands National Handicap Chase in July, run over about three miles and one furlong for a prize fund of €100,000. It is seen as a trial for the Galway Plate, which is run at the Galway Races later in the summer. Past winners include Freewheelin Dylan, who went on to win the Irish Grand National. Midlands National day is also Kilbeggan's Ladies Day, and in 2026 the May bank holiday meeting doubled as a Best Dressed Guy's Day.

Getting there

By road: Kilbeggan is in the centre of Ireland, on the M6 between Dublin and Galway, and about an hour from Dublin. From Dublin (92km), take the M4 to Kinnegad and then the M6. From Galway (125km) or Athlone (32km), follow the M6. From Mullingar (21km) or Tullamore (12km), take the N52. The course is signposted from the town square.

By bus: Bus Éireann runs services from Busáras, Dublin's central bus station, to Kilbeggan town, about 1.6km from the course.

By air: Dublin Airport is the nearest, at just over an hour away.

Facilities and tips for visitors

The pavilion has restaurants and bars, and the course serves hot and cold food on race days, with dishes such as bacon and cabbage, cottage pie, curry and soup alongside sandwiches and drinks. Gift vouchers are sold through the racecourse.

Nearby places to stay

Kilbeggan sits between three larger towns, Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore, all within about 32km, and any of them makes a good base. Kilbeggan town itself is walkable from the course. Galway, at the far end of the M6, and Roscommon are other courses to the west for a longer racing trip.