Sligo Races - National Hunt Meeting

What to Expect

Sligo Racecourse holds a National Hunt fixture on Friday, 23 October 2026, one of the closing meetings of the track’s 2026 season, which runs from May through late October. As with the rest of the calendar, racing is over jumps rather than on the flat, and the meeting takes place at the track’s Cleveragh course between Benbulben and Knocknarea, a setting regularly cited as one of the most scenic in Irish racing.

The course itself is demanding: long, sharp turns, undulating ground throughout, and a steep uphill finish that tests stamina and tends to produce close finishes rather than easy processions. General admission is standard racecourse pricing, and the newer grandstand, bar and restaurant, and hospitality building overlooking the parade ring are all in use for the fixture, as they have been across the rest of the season. On-course Tote betting is available alongside bookmakers’ rails, and there is no dress code for general admission areas.

Late-October jumps racing at Sligo tends to draw a mix of regular racegoers and locals looking for an evening or afternoon out as the season winds down, and with the track’s summer festival crowds long gone, it is generally a more relaxed occasion than the peak-season fixtures in July and August. Records of racing in County Sligo date back to 1781, and the current Cleveragh track has been running fixtures since 1955, so this meeting sits within one of the longer-established racing traditions in the west of Ireland.

Good to Know

• Date: Friday 23 October 2026
• National Hunt jumps racing
• Admission: €15 adults, €10 students/OAPs, under-14s free (standard racecourse pricing)
• Venue: Sligo Racecourse, Cleveragh, Co. Sligo
• Book or check details: countysligoraces.com
• Exact race times and card published closer to the date

Getting There

Sligo Racecourse is at Cleveragh, close to Sligo town centre, with dedicated on-site car parking. Bus Eireann connects Sligo town with Dublin, Galway and Derry, and the racecourse is a short taxi ride or a walkable distance from Sligo Bus Station.