The Irish Champions Festival runs across two days and two racecourses this year: Saturday 12 September at Leopardstown in south Dublin, and Sunday 13 September at the Curragh in Kildare, our home turf. Between them the two days carry seven Group 1 races and more than €5 million in prize money, making this the richest and most competitive weekend on the Irish flat racing calendar. Tickets for both days are on sale now through Leopardstown and the Curragh directly, and if you want to turn race weekend into a proper Kildare trip, several Horse Country experiences sit within a few minutes of the track and can be booked today.

What Is the Irish Champions Festival?

The Irish Champions Festival is Ireland's marquee flat racing weekend, and 2026 marks its 13th year. It was built to do something Irish racing hadn't really done before: put the country's two biggest tracks, Leopardstown and the Curragh, on the same ticket across a single weekend, so the best horses, trainers and jockeys in Ireland (and a fair number from Britain, France and further afield) converge twice in 48 hours instead of scattering across the season.

Day one at Leopardstown builds to the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, one of the most valuable middle-distance races in Europe. Day two at the Curragh closes the weekend with the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the fifth and final Irish Classic of the season. Between those two anchor races sit five more Group 1s, a full card of supporting stakes and handicaps, and the kind of atmosphere that mixes serious racing with a proper social occasion on both sides of the country.

Day One: Leopardstown, Saturday 12 September

Leopardstown's card builds through the afternoon across five Group races, with three of them Group 1:

• The Golden Fleece Stakes (Group 1), new to the card for 2026, 2.50pm
• The Coolmore America "Justify" Matron Stakes (Group 1), 3.55pm
• The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1), 5.00pm, the day's showpiece

Tickets start from €50 for General Admission Plus, with hospitality packages and Race and Stay options (hotel, breakfast, admission and transport) starting from €177 per person, all bookable directly through leopardstown.com.

Leopardstown sits six miles south of Dublin city centre, and getting there doesn't need a car. The nearest Luas stop is Sandyford on the Green Line, about 20 minutes from the city centre, with a complimentary shuttle bus running from the stop to the track on race days. If you're driving, exit the M50 at Junction 15 and use Car Park G to avoid the worst of the Leopardstown Road congestion, and free parking is available with a shuttle running from every car park. Give yourself more time than the drive normally needs. Race day traffic around the M50 exit is real.

Day Two: The Curragh, Sunday 13 September

This is the day that matters most to us, because the Curragh is five minutes from where most of our Kildare experiences run. It's an eight-race card carrying nearly €2.5 million in prize money on its own, and four of those races are Group 1:

• The Moyglare Stud Stakes (Group 1), 2.50pm
• The Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes (Group 1), 3.25pm
• The Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (Group 1), 4.00pm
• The Comer Group International Irish St Leger (Group 1), 4.35pm, the weekend's closing Classic

The undercard adds the Moyglare "Jewels" Blanford Stakes (Group 2), the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Stakes and two premier handicaps, so there's genuinely no dead time between the big races. Off the track, the Curragh runs a Racecourse Train shuttling visitors around the grounds, a Moyglare Kids Zone with face painting and a race simulator, and live music through the afternoon, plus "Grace & Glory," the festival's Style Day at the Curragh.

Tickets are available through tickets.curragh.ie, with hospitality, boxes and suites bookable via the main Curragh site.

How Do I Get From Dublin to the Curragh?

By car, the Curragh is roughly 40 to 60 minutes from Dublin city centre via the M7, depending on where you're starting from and how race day traffic is running. If you're coming straight from a night in Dublin, build in extra time for both the M50 and the M7, particularly if you did Leopardstown the day before and are making a full weekend of it.

If you don't have a car, hiring one for the day or arranging a driver is the simplest option. The Curragh is a working racecourse in open Kildare countryside rather than a city-centre venue with a train station on the doorstep, so plan transport the same way you would for any of our Kildare experiences.

Turn Race Weekend Into a Full Kildare Trip

Race day at the Curragh is one afternoon. The county around it is where Irish racing actually gets made, and several Horse Country experiences sit close enough to the track to fold straight into the same trip, whether you're there for both days or just Sunday.

We've already built a full multi-day itinerary for the weekend, running from Thursday 10 September through the Curragh on Sunday, combining race days with the breeding, training and equine science experiences that don't happen anywhere else. If you want the whole thing planned for you, that's the fastest way in: Irish Champions Festival Itinerary 2026.

Prefer to pick your own experiences around the racing? Here's what's closest to the Curragh and worth building a race weekend around:

Starting Point puts you inside Rangers Lodge with Richard Brabazon, a working Curragh yard, days before some of those same horses could be walking into the Curragh parade ring for real. Kildangan Stud does the same job from the breeding end, at the farm behind a good number of Group 1 form lines. The Irish National Stud & Gardens is the easiest add for anyone staying a full day, a private tour of the stallions and the Japanese Gardens fits neatly either side of racing.

All experiences need advance booking through the Horse Country ticket site. The full range of experiences across Kildare and Tipperary is on the Horse Country experiences page if you want to see everything reachable from wherever you're staying.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Irish Champions Festival 2026?

Saturday 12 September (Leopardstown) and Sunday 13 September (the Curragh).

How much prize money is on offer?

Over €5 million across the two days, with almost €2.5 million of that on the Curragh's eight-race card alone.

How many Group 1 races are run over the weekend?

Seven: three at Leopardstown (the Golden Fleece Stakes, the Matron Stakes and the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes) and four at the Curragh (the Moyglare Stud Stakes, the Flying Five Stakes, the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes and the Irish St Leger).

Where do I buy tickets?

Leopardstown tickets are through leopardstown.com, from €50 for General Admission Plus. Curragh tickets are through tickets.curragh.ie. Horse Country doesn't sell race day tickets directly, our experiences are the behind-the-scenes side of the same world.

How far is the Curragh from Dublin?

Roughly 40 to 60 minutes by car via the M7, depending on traffic.

Can I book a Horse Country experience for the same weekend as the festival?

Yes, but advance booking is essential, especially for a busy weekend like this one. Book before you travel rather than trying to arrange something on the day.

Do I need racing knowledge to enjoy a Horse Country experience?

No. Every experience is guided and built for curious first-timers as much as lifelong racing fans.

Planning your festival weekend? Book the Irish Champions Festival Itinerary or browse the full list of experiences in Kildare and Tipperary.