Wexford

Records show that racing took place in the area as far back as the 1870s but the current set up and course date from the 1950s.

Wexford is a right-handed undulating rectangular shaped course, which is roughly nine furlongs in distance. The speedy types often perform well here as it's a fairy sharp track.

With a 34% strike-rate, Noel Meade is the trainer to watch here and following his horses blindly over the past five years has shown a very reasonable level stakes profit.

Jockey wise, Paul Carberry has an excellent strike-rate of just under 32% and also shows a decent profit over the past five years.

Flat favourites have a win rate of 34.6% but this figure is somewhat lower for jumps favourites at 29.5%. Flat maiden favourites are particularly noteworthy with a 41% strike rate and have broke even to level stakes over the past five years.

Previous course winners have a 12.3% win-rate on their return to Wexford, with that figure slightly lower over jumps at 10%.

Tramore

Racing in the area was originally held on a nearby beach and records show meetings taking place since the 1780s.

The present course has been used since 1911 but a brand new course is under development at the nearby Lisselan, and is expected to open in the next year or two.

The highlight of the year at Tramore is the four day mid-August festival and usually attracts good fields and good crowds. The right handed undulating course is quite small at just over seven furlongs and is somewhat square in shape. The bends are difficult and many horses find it hard to perform here. Indeed, course clerk Paddy Graffan once stated that 'if you can keep a horse balanced round here, Epsom's easy!'

There are five fences to a circuit on the chase course. There are no significant draw statistics on the flat.

With 13 winners from 25 races in the past five years (52%), John Oxx trained horses simply must be noted here and have shown a decent profit thus far if blindly followed. At 28%, Joanna Morgan also has a very good record and healthy profit to level stakes when followed.

The jockey to note here is Fran Berry, who shows a win rate of nearly 44% and a fantastic profit of around £450 to £10 stakes over the past five years. On the jumps, Ruby Walsh wins one race in four on average, and following him has broken even to level stakes.

At 35%, flat favourites perform quite well here and have shown a very small profit to level stakes over the past five years. Indeed, flat maiden favourites have a fantastic strike-rate of 50%, and show a reasonable profit to boot. Jumps favourites don't perform so well at just over 30%.

Previous course winners have a 10.8% strike-rate on their return on the flat, with that figure slightly higher over jumps at 12.67%.

Tralee

The town is famous for the 'Rose of Tralee' festival, but that beauty contest originally started off as a side-show to the racing festival.

Horse racing took place at various places in the area until it finally settled in its present location in the late 1890s. The site was formerly owned by Kerry's famous son - Irish Patriot Daniel O'Connell. The main race of the year is the Guinness Gold Cup Premier Handicap which usually attracts a competitive field. Tralee is a left-handed, circle shaped undulating course which is one mile and two furlongs in distance. The track is quite sharp but the fences on the chase course don't pose too many problems.

Trainer Paul Nolan has shown a reasonable record here at 20% over the past five years, and has proved profitable to follow. Jockey wise, Paul Carberry has shown a strike-rate of 22% and a good level stakes profit in recent times.

Favourite backers should be cautious at Tralee, as it ranks nearer the bottom of the table for winning jollies. Flat favourites show a strike-rate of 27.6%, with that figure very similar over jumps at 27.8%.

Previous course form is insignificant on the flat with just 7.7% going on to win on their return. Over jumps however, that figure is much higher at 15.5%. In fact, that's the highest win-rate in Ireland for previous course winners and has shown a slight profit over the past five years. Ler mais

Punchestown

If you want to annoy an Irishman, you should describe the Punchestown festival as 'Ireland's answer to Cheltenham'. I've heard that many times over the years but any Irishman who knows his racing however, will quickly quip back that the Punchestown festival pre-dates Cheltenham by 75 years!

The Punchestown festival takes place in late April and is the culmination of the Irish National Hunt season. It is without doubt the biggest meeting in the Irish racing calendar. Of course, there's racing all year round too, almost exclusively National Hunt, bar a few charity flat races now and then.

Punchestown is a right-handed and undulating, and has a number of courses for hurdles, chases and flat racing. One of the most interesting courses is the cross country, where stone walls, ditches and banks are all part and parcel of the race. On the chase course, the fences are not too stiff compared to British standards, so good solid jumpers tend to do well.

Dermot Weld, Willie Mullins, Robbie Burns and Colm Murphy are all trainers worth noting here and regularly produce the winners. On the banks course, Enda Bolger is king - in fact, he's won the tricky La Touche Cup at the festival for eleven years straight, equalling the record set by Pat Hogan in the 1980s.

Ruby Walsh has a fine record at Punchestown, but in recent times, cousins Paddy and Emmet Mullins have been keeping the family tradition strong and finding themselves in the winners' enclosure on a regular basis.

Favourites have a strike-rate of just over 33% overall with bumper jollies actually showing a profit to level stakes if blindly backed.

Navan

The racecourse at Navan first opened in 1920, and was originally known as Proudstown Park.

Recent times have seen plenty of investment in facilities - and there's usually decent prizemoney on offer, thus attracting many top horses. While it hosts plenty of flat racing, it's mainly known for its national hunt meetings, especially in the latter months of the year. The course itself is a left-handed, rectangular shape of roughly one mile and four furlongs in distance. There is a straight course of around six furlongs which meets the main track at the entrance to the straight. There is a fairly stiff, uphill finish which can become very testing on soft or heavy ground. The chase course has nine fences to a circuit. In flat sprints, lower to middle drawn horses have shown an advantage in recent years.

Once again, it's Aidan O'Brien who shows the best record here in recent years at 28%, and a profit to level stakes if blindly backed. A jockey to note here is Nina Carberry, who shows a strike-rate of over 34%, and has also proved profitable to follow.
Favourites perform quite well here at 35% and 37% on the flat and jumps respectively. In the past five years, non-handicap flat favourites have performed particularly well with a strike-rate of 44.4% and a small profit to level stakes.

Previous course winners are noteworthy on their return, with 16.1% going on to win on the flat and a show a profit to level stakes. That figure is slightly lower over jumps at 14.9% and shows a significant loss if blindly followed.

Naas

Situated in County Kildare, Naas is a historic Irish town known as 'Nás Na Ríogh' in the Irish Language - meaning 'Meeting place of Kings'.

The sport of Kings however, has taken place at this venue since 1920 and the surrounding areas are renowned as pure thoroughbred territory. The track is not too far from its famous big brother Punchestown, and racing takes place regularly throughout the year. Naas is an oval shaped, left handed course that is just over one mile and four furlongs in distance. The chase course has eight fences to a circuit and there is a run-in of roughly one furlong. Naas is very much a galloping course, so proven stayers tend to do well here. On the flat, horses drawn medium to high have performed well here in recent times.

Aidan O'Brien has a very respectable record here at 28%, but prices are usually restrictive so it's hard to make money from his mounts. Jockey wise, the best performer in recent times is a certain Mr Fallon. It will be interesting to see how he performs here should he return to racing as expected in September 2009.

Despite being known as 'The punters' graveyard', favourites at Naas perform reasonably well with a 34.5% strike-rate on the flat, and 32.2% over jumps. Non-handicap flat favourites perform particularly well with a strike-rate of just over 40%, and they've broke-even to level stakes over the past five years.

Previous course form is significant here with 14.2% of flat horses going on to win again on their return and such horses show a small profit if blindly backed. National Hunt course winners have a strike-rate of 15.2%, but have shown a slight loss in the past five years.

Listowel

The highlight of the year at Listowel is the week-long 'harvest' festival, usually held in mid-September.

Traditionally, farmers would come here to relax, and have a few bets with the money earned from the season's harvest. Racing has taken place here since 1858, having been moved from the nearby town of Ballyeagh - the move due to too much faction fighting at the original venue!
The course itself is a flat, left-handed, sharp track - which is oval in shape and roughly one mile and two furlongs in distance. It doesn't present much of a stamina test and front runners tend to do well. There are five fences to a circuit on the chase course. There is a run-in of roughly two furlongs. On the flat, lower drawn horses have shown a slight advantage in races over seven furlongs and also one mile.

Two trainers to note are Kevin Prendergast and David Wachman, both of whom show strike-rates above 25% and have proved profitable to follow over the past five years. Ruby Walsh is the jockey that has performed best here in recent years, with a win rate of one in four on average, and a healthy profit if blindly backed.

Favourites don't perform particularly well on the flat at 28%, with that figure slightly higher over jumps at 29.6%. However, maiden hurdle favourites have a strike-rate of nearly 39%, and have broke even to level stakes if blindly followed over the past five years.

Previous course form is not hugely significant, with 12.3% of flat horses going on to win again on their return. That figure is somewhat lower over jumps at 10%. Ler mais