Thurles racecourse, Ireland’s only privately owned racecourse, has closed with immediate effect.
Riona Molony officially announced the decision on Friday, with the Molony family having owned the Tipperary track for over a century.
One of three racecourses in County Tipperary, Thurles hosted its first meeting in 1732, and the track is renowned in National Hunt circles for its ability to cope with heavy rain and stage cards in the depths of winter.
However, this forte ironically proved a negative last season, with meetings and schooling sessions cancelled due to fast ground on a course without an irrigation system.
The racecourse is licensed to race until 31 December and has 11 prominent fixtures in the 2025/26 racing calendar, but those meetings will not go ahead.
A challenging financial landscape has been cited as one of the factors behind the decision to call time on the business.
In 2023, Thurles formed the breakaway United Irish Racecourses alongside Limerick, Kilbeggan, Roscommon and Sligo to enter into discussions with Arena Racecourse Company to achieve more favourable media rights terms.
Had a deal been struck, coverage from those tracks would have moved from Racing TV to Sky Sports.
However, the five venues eventually joined the other 21 racecourses in Ireland and signed with Racecourse Media Group and SIS – the outgoing rights holders – in a deal worth approximately €47m a year to the sport in this country.
A statement from Molony on the closure read: “It has been an honour and a privilege for our family to have run Thurles racecourse, and I am officially announcing our retirement today.
“We are very proud of the immense contribution our family has made to racing and we are most grateful to our extended racecourse family, our dedicated staff, generous sponsors, loyal patrons and the wider racing community for all your support.
“Horse racing is part of the fabric of our family, and we have been very fortunate to have made so many great friends within the industry over the years. My family and I look forward to going racing with you again as spectators.
“Since my beloved husband Pierce passed away in 2015, with the help of our four daughters Patricia, Helen, Ann Marie and Kate and our wonderful staff, we’ve managed to keep the show on the road and I know he would be very proud of us for that.
“The girls all have their own families, careers and lives to live. Ever increasing industry demands and the cost of doing business has also been a major factor.”
In recent times, Thurles has hosted three Grade Two contests each season, with the Kinloch Brae Chase in January being the most high profile. It has been won by the likes of Native Upmanship (three times), Newmill (twice), Hi Cloy and Don Cossack.