Earliest meeting: Monday 25th September 1775
Final meeting: Tuesday 12th May 1914  
The County Tipperary town of Nenagh, the County town of North Tipperary, today serves a population in excess of 8000. However, back in the latter part of the 18th century the town was much smaller and more rural, yet still had the capacity to organise race meetings. The Racing Calendar of 1775 first recorded results from the 5 day meeting held between Monday 25th and Saturday 30th September, with a day off for hunting on the Friday. The opening day saw a 3 mile Purse go to Mr Daly’s Hibernia who beat Hipponea, while Lord Clanwilliams enjoyed the meeting, bagging the Give and Take with Guinea-Pig and the 4 mile Open race with Hippolitus. In many ways the racecourse was ahead of its time because, at their meeting in September 1777, they offered a minimum purse per race of £50, and this creativity enabled the racecourse to survive when others fell by the wayside.  Races took place on the Norwood course, frequently organised in conjunction with the Ormond Hunt Group. In the middle of the 19th century there were concerns about the state of the course, so much so that at the meeting on Monday 30th April and Tuesday 1st May 1860 the racecourse attempted to address the concerns by outlining the improvements which had been made to the Norwood course. In the early part of the 20th century there were further concerns about a number of issues surrounding the majority of Irish Flat racecourses, including measuring race distances correctly and, more importantly, the safety of each course. These concerns came to a head in July 1907 when a course Inspector was appointed. Nenagh was one of the courses where concerns were so great that warnings were issued. The final meeting took place on Tuesday 12th May 1914.

Monday 25th September 1775

Nenagh 3 mile Purse
1. Hibernia, bay mare owned by Mr M Daly
2. Hipponea, grey filly owned by Mr R Hamilton
3. Unnamed brown colt owned by Mr J Mintcheon

Tuesday 26th September 1775

Nenagh Give & Take
1. Guinea-Pig, bay gelding owned by Lord Clanwilliams
2. Charlotte, bay mare owned by Mr E Dowlon
3. Tiney, grey gelding owned by Mr J Hewson

Wednesday 27th September 1775

Nenagh Real Hunters Stakes over 4 miles
1. Governor, brown horse owned by Mr J Fallon
2. Myrmidon, bay horse owned by Mr T Lambert

Thursday 28th September 1775

Nenagh Open 9 stone Race over 4 miles
1. Hippolitus, bay gelding owned by Lord Clanwilliams
2. Schoolboy, bay gelding owned by Mr Jos. Shadwell

Saturday 30th September 1775

Race according to articles of Newmarket Gold Cup
1. Coiner, grey gelding owned by Mr Jos. Shadwell
2. Carlos, black colt owned by Lord Clanwilliams

Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-

London Illustrated News

Racing Illustrated 1895-1899

The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated

Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough

The Sporting Magazine

A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8

Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses