Ballinrobe
FLAT: Ballinrobe is a right-handed oval track of about a mile, with a run-in of not much more than a furlong. While the back straight is uphill, the closing stages are downhill, and speedy types are favoured. Six-furlong races are run around a sharp turn and a low draw is generally an advantage.
NATIONAL HUNT: Ballinrobe is a right-handed oval track with a circuit of around nine furlongs. Although the back straight is uphill, the last two and a half furlongs are downhill, and this is not a course for a staying type. There are six fences to a circuit, three in the back straight and the last one just after the turn into the short finishing straight. The run-in is around one furlong.
ABOUT: Ballinrobe Racecourse has been used as a horse racing venue since the 1920s, although the popularity of the area for race meetings goes back a further hundred years. The Ballinrobe course sits some 2km north of the town itself, and has the distinction of being the only racetrack in County Mayo.
The only racecourse in Mayo, Ballinrobe has flat racing all on the inner loop, on a right-handed track, with two bends and two long straights. The outer loop is over fences and when you run away from the stands and turn the first bend you continue straight on and climb sharply on a slope to get onto the outer loop which adds two furlongs to the track. The outer loop is a much better jumps track with undulations to test horses’ speed and stamina. A well-run racecourse, Ballinrobe attracts great crowds like all the courses in western Ireland.