Listowel Racecourse: Harvest Festival, Races and Betting

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This guide to Listowel racecourse covers the main meetings, how to get there and what to check before you bet. Listowel Racecourse is at The Island in Listowel, Co. Kerry, 25 km north-east of Tralee, 110 km north-west of Cork and 80 km south-west of Limerick. The track is left-handed.

Quick answer
  • Listowel Racecourse in Co. Kerry is a left-handed track.
  • Harvest Festival: a week-long meeting each September, with the Kerry National as its feature.
  • June: a three-day meeting over the June bank holiday weekend.

What is racing like at Listowel?

It is a festival course. Its Harvest Festival is a week-long meeting every September, and it is one of the biggest racing weeks of the Irish autumn.

Listowel Racecourse fact file
Location
The Island, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Track
Left-handed
Big meetings
Harvest Festival (September), June bank holiday meeting
Distance
25 km from Tralee

Main meetings and races at Listowel

  • Harvest Festival: A week-long meeting each September.
  • Kerry National: The festival’s feature race.
  • June bank holiday meeting: A three-day meeting.

The Harvest Festival follows the summer festivals at Galway and the Curragh, so it often features horses returning from a break. See our horse racing betting guide for the terms and bet types you will see on the card.

How do you get to Listowel?

Listowel is 25 km north-east of Tralee, 110 km north-west of Cork and 80 km south-west of Limerick. The nearest airports are Kerry (about 30 km), Shannon (about 47 km) and Cork (about 95 km).

Check the racecourse and Bus Éireann for race-day transport, because public transport links vary by meeting.

How do you bet at Listowel?

Festival cards at Listowel are full of handicaps, so each-way betting is popular. Compare place terms before you bet, and use the each way calculator to see the returns.

If you bet across several races, our Lucky 31 calculator and Trixie calculator show how combination bets pay when some selections win.

Check that any bookmaker you use is licensed for Irish customers before you open an account. Our licence check guide shows how. 18+. No bet is a sure thing.

What should you check before betting at Listowel?

  • The going, which can be soft by September.
  • How the horse has run left-handed before, since the track turns left.
  • Each-way terms and the number of runners.

Our guide to assessing a race goes through the racecard, the going and the odds step by step, and the horse racing betting guide explains terms such as each-way, Rule 4 and non-runners.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Listowel Harvest Festival?

It is a week-long meeting each September.

Is Listowel left or right-handed?

Left-handed.

What is the Kerry National?

The feature race of the Listowel Harvest Festival.

How far is Listowel racecourse from Tralee?

25 km, to the north-east.

Sources and further reading

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Last updated 27 October 2026. Written and checked by the Punter Ireland editorial team. Offers, odds and rules change, so always check the operator’s own terms and the official sources above.

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