Punchestown Festival

Punchestown Racecourse

Punchestown races 2009
Location	County Kildare, Ireland
Date opened	1875
Course type	Flat
Notable races	Boylesports.com Champion Chase; Punchestown Gold Cup; Ladbrokes.com World Series Hurdle; Rabobank Champion Hurdle; AES Champion 4YO Hurdle
Official website

Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National Hunt Festival. The racecourse itself is right handed with an undulating hurdle and steeplechase track. The hurdle course is one mile six furlongs in distance while the chase course is 2 miles. Punchestown Racecourse also has the only cross country banks course in Ireland.

As well as horse racing, Punchestown hosts several music events, including the annual Oxegen festival, while AC/DC, Bon Jovi and Eminem are among the artists to have played sold out concerts on the racecourse. In 1982 U2 played to over 16,000 people supported by Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher and Simple Minds. this was part of Hot Press fifth Anniversary.

Dick O'Sullivan has been General Manager since 2003.

The Punchestown Festival is the major horse racing festival of the Irish National Hunt Season and is usually held annually in April. The Punchestown Festival is held over five days, between Tuesday and Saturday inclusive. It is seen by many as the Irish version of the Cheltenham Festival and is run in a very similar format.

The major races at the Festival are the Champion Chase, Ryanair Novice Chase, Champion Hurdle, World Series Hurdle, Herald Champion Novice Hurdle, Tattersalls Ireland Champion Novice Hurdle, Growise Champion Novice Chase, Champion Four Year Old Hurdle, Champion INH Flat Race and the Punchestown Gold Cup.