Racing has taken place in various parts of Limerick since 1790, but the present course was opened in October 2001 and boasts modern, comfortable facilities.
One of the biggest races of the year is the Munster National, which usually takes place in October. Limerick is a wide, right-handed track with sweeping bends. There is a steep climb up the back straight and the distance is a mile and three furlongs. On the chase course, there are seven fences to a circuit, five of which are in quick succession along the back straight. These fences can often catch out inexperienced jumpers. The run-in is roughly one furlong. On the flat, there appears to be no significant draw bias.
Trainer John Oxx has an excellent record here at 29%, and backing his horses has broken even to level stakes over the past five years. Close behind is Willie Mullins, with a 24% strike-rate and a small profit if blindly followed.
Katie Walsh is a jockey with a good win record here of 23%, although the sample is quite small. Close behind is Fran Berry on 22.7%, followed by Katie's Brother Ruby, at 21.5%.
Limerick flat favourites have a strike-rate of 31.7% while their jumps counterparts perform better at 35.6%. Non handicap chase favourites have an excellent win rate of over 45%, and have shown a small profit if blindly backed over the past five years.
The record of previous course winners is significantly different on each code. On the flat, previous winners have a strike-rate of just 8.2% on their return, while that figure is much higher over jumps at nearly 14%.