Ballintra Races

What to Expect

Ballintra Races is a “flapper” meeting, meaning it runs outside Horse Racing Ireland’s official rules rather than under Turf Club stewardship. Ponies and horses from farms and yards around south Donegal race in a card of heats through the afternoon, with informal on-course bookmakers taking bets ringside in the traditional style. It is a fixture of the August Bank Holiday weekend at Murvagh, drawing families and racing regulars from Donegal Town, Laghy, Ballintra and the wider south Donegal area rather than the bigger crowds of a licensed track. Expect a working country race day rather than a polished spectator event, with a roped course, a tannoy announcer and a field of local runners and riders rather than a grandstand or big-screen odds boards.

Good to Know

• Monday 3 August 2026, first race at 2:00pm, at Murvagh, near Donegal Town.
• Admission is €10, cash only on the gate; there is no advance booking or online ticketing for this event.
• Racing continues through the afternoon in a series of heats. Arrive early, as parking in the adjoining fields fills up by early afternoon on a Bank Holiday.
• This is an unlicensed meeting rather than a Horse Racing Ireland fixture, so there is no official form guide; regulars follow the horses and riders by local reputation rather than a formal racecard.
• Food stalls and a bar tent are typical of these meetings, though facilities are basic and weather-dependent, so dress for the outdoors.
• It returns as an annual Bank Holiday tradition, so the same weekend each summer is the one to watch for if this date does not suit.

Getting There

Murvagh is signposted off the N15 Donegal Town to Ballyshannon road, close to Donegal Golf Club and Murvagh Forest, about a 10 minute drive south of Donegal Town.