Galway Races Autumn Meeting

What to Expect

Ballybrit Racecourse returns to action after the Summer Festival crowds have gone home, with a quieter two-day autumn meeting on Monday, September 7 and Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Monday’s card is National Hunt racing with seven races on offer, first race off at 3.50pm, followed by a second card on Tuesday with the first race at 4.05pm. These autumn fixtures are aimed more at regular racegoers and the local racing community than the festival-week visitors who fill Ballybrit every July, so expect a more relaxed atmosphere, easier parking, and shorter queues at the bar and tote windows than during Race Week. Galway Races runs these fixtures under the same management as the Summer Festival and the later October Festival, part of a full calendar of meetings at the track through the year. Ballybrit is one of Ireland’s best-known dual-purpose tracks, hosting both National Hunt and Flat racing across the season, and its left-handed, undulating circuit is considered a stern enough test that form from Ballybrit is watched closely by trainers targeting bigger festivals later in the year.

Good to Know

• Dates and times: Monday, September 7, 2026, first race 3.50pm; Tuesday, September 8, 2026, first race 4.05pm. Both at Ballybrit Racecourse.
• Format: National Hunt (jumps) racing, seven races on the Monday card per the track’s own racing dates listing.
• Entry: paid admission at the gate; exact 2026 autumn-meeting prices were not published alongside the fixture dates, so check galwayraces.com nearer the time.
• Ballybrit hosts on-course bookmakers, tote betting, and food and drink facilities as standard for race days, though on a smaller scale than festival week.
• Smart-casual dress is the norm rather than the formal Ladies Day outfits seen during the Summer Festival, since these are working race days for regular racegoers.
• This is one of three remaining Galway Races fixtures before the end of 2026, alongside a single-day meeting on October 6 and the three-day October Racing Festival from October 24 to 26.

Getting There

Ballybrit is about 5km northeast of Galway city centre, just off the N17/N18 Tuam Road. There is on-site parking, and city bus routes serve the racecourse on race days.