Naas Racecourse

Winner of the AIRO/The Irish Field Racecourse of the Year Award 2019

 

 

Naas Racecourse is situated less than 30km west of Dublin. It sits close to the centre of the lively town of Naas, having hosted horse racing meetings since 1924. The course provides punters with 15 annual meetings under the auspices of both National Hunt and Flat. This venue hosted its first ever Grade 1 race in January 2015 in the form of the Lawlor’s Hotel (formerly Slaney) Novice Hurdle. The initial running of this race ended with a shock win for 33/1 shot McKinley.

The outstanding race of the Flat season at this venue is the Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes which takes place in May. This race often produces fillies which go on to success in Group 1 races, recent examples being Pleascach and Banimpire.

in 2019, the racecourse won the accolade ‘AIRO/The Irish Field Racecourse of the Year Award’.

 

Naas Racecourse Location

As already mentioned, Naas Racecourse is located very close to Dublin and while there isn’t a railway station in Naas town centre, there are frequent buses to and from the Irish capital. Naas itself is within a 30 minute drive of Dublin and can be reached along the N7. Once at the racecourse, there is ample parking although things can sometimes get quite busy for the better attended meetings. Many racegoers opt to take the bus to Naas and walk to the racecourse, this being an easy stroll of less than 10 minutes. Taxis can be found in the town centre and a one-way trip to the venue costs under €5.

 

Flat Track

This is a left-handed track with a length of approximately one and a half miles. It is galloping in character with a stiff four furlong straight. The entrance to the straight consists of a two furlong chute which allows for five and six furlong races along a straight course.

 

 

Jumps Track

This is a left-handed circuit with a length of a mile and a half, galloping in character and oval in shape, a stiff uphill finish to the line and favouring staying types. The chase course is outside of the hurdles course and has eight fences on a circuit, two of these being on the home straight which is four furlongs. The run-in is over one furlong.

 

 

Naas Racecourse Betting Guide

Flat

This is, by all accounts, a fair track although it has become known as the “punters’ graveyard”. On the round track, the ground can be softer just before the chute for the mile start. The draw bias favours the lower numbers in the mile-and-a-quarter races. The mile and the seven furlong tracks are extremely fair with the draw not being much of an issue. Runners having plenty of time to get into position before the turn into the straight. The sprint track has been levelled out in recent years and barring when the ground gets soft the draw isn’t a factor. Otherwise high draws have the advantage given that they tend to head towards the stand rail.

Jump

This is an excellent galloping track, the ground between the seven furlong post through to the finish line being generally better than that between the winning post and the seven furlong pole, the latter tending to be softer and pretty deep when heavy. This track has a stiff finish and it can be hard to come from off the pace.

Trainers & Jockeys

Willie Mullins has had things very much to himself over the past three years with 16 wins from 39 runners – a strike rate of 41.03%. His closest challenger has been P Nolan with four wins from thirteen. On the jockey front, Paul Townend has bagged 10 from 23 and is top of the pile at this venue with a strike rate of 43.48%.