If you think that race cancellations due to the weather are a pain, spare a thought for Tipperary racegoers in the early 1870s where the first meetings in the area were cancelled due to an outbreak of smallpox!
The present course dates back to 1916 and was known as 'Limerick Junction' (the name of the nearby train station) up until its rebranding as Tipperary Racecourse in the 1980s. The area is steeped in racing history and is home to the world famous Coolmore stud.
The track itself is a left-handed oval shape of around one mile two furlongs in distance. It's essentially galloping in nature, and there are six fences to a circuit on the chase course. The run-in is roughly one furlong long. On the flat there is a chute meeting the main course that caters for the five furlong races. Horses drawn high have shown a slight advantage in such sprints.
Favourites perform extremely well here at 39% and 37% on the flat and jumps respectably, with both showing a profit over the past five years. Flat maiden favourites are particularly noteworthy with a win rate over 50% - which is a massive figure by any standards.
There are a number of trainers to note here, and Aidan O'Brien, John Oxx, Eoin Griffin and Colm Murphy all have strike-rates well above 20% in the past five years.
Previous flat course winners have an 11.65% strike-rate on their return - a figure that's slightly higher over jumps at 15.5%.