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sport · Sunday 5 July 2026 · 13:00 
Bellewstown 300th Birthday Celebration
At Bellewstown Racecourse · Bellewstown, Co. Meath (Drogheda area)
At Bellewstown Racecourse · Bellewstown, Co. Meath (Drogheda area)
Bellewstown has been putting on races on the Hill since 1726 - and on 5 July 2026 the course marks exactly three centuries of racing with a dedicated birthday celebration. This is the centrepiece of the racecourse’s 300th anniversary year, drawing people from across Meath and the wider Boyne Valley not just for the sport but for a day that carries real weight. If you have any interest in Irish racing history, this is one of those occasions you will genuinely be able to say you were there for.
The celebration opens at 1pm and runs through to 6pm. Racing at Bellewstown on the anniversary weekend covers both National Hunt and flat cards - the course is one of only a handful in Ireland that mixes codes - so the programme is varied. The hilltop setting is part of what makes Bellewstown so distinctive: you get sweeping views across the Boyne Valley farmland that no grandstand can quite replicate.
The 300th year has brought real investment to the venue. The newly opened 1726 Restaurant takes its name from the year of the first recorded meeting (which appeared in the Dublin Gazette and Weekly Courier that August), offering a step up from the standard racecourse catering. A new weigh room has also been added, modernising the working side of the course without losing its character.
The story of the venue is woven into the event itself. In 1780 George Tandy, former Mayor of Drogheda, secured royal patronage from King George III - and the King’s Plate, worth £100, put Bellewstown on the national map. The revived Majesty’s Cup keeps that thread alive today.
Tickets start from €20. The festival days (Thursday through Saturday) have evening starts at 5pm; the Sunday birthday event is a midday affair with a 1pm first race, so it suits families and visitors who want to make a full afternoon of it.
Bellewstown sits in the hills south of Drogheda, off the R150 in north County Meath. By car it is about 10 minutes from Drogheda town centre and 45 minutes from Dublin city via the M1 motorway. There is on-site parking, and the course runs shuttle buses from Drogheda on busy race days - check bellewstownraces.ie closer to the date to confirm arrangements. The nearest rail station is Drogheda, served by Dublin-Belfast Intercity and commuter services.
The village sits above a stretch of countryside that rolls down toward the Boyne estuary, with the Hill of Tara and the Brú na Bóinne passage tombs within easy reach for anyone making a day or a weekend of the trip. There is more to see in Bellewstown and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Bellewstown Racecourse in Bellewstown? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Bellewstown area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.