Bellewstown Racecourse

Bellewstown racecourse, on the Hill of Crockafotha in Co Meath, is beautifully situated in a rural setting with magnificent views of the Mountains of Mourne to the north and the Irish sea to the east.

Bellewstown is an annual three day meeting which takes place in the first week of July. The races have always been associated with the smell of freshly mown hay and the taste of strawberries and cream. We do not know exactly when racing started in Bellewstown, but the first record of races appears in the August edition of the Dublin Gazette and the Weekly Courier in 1726.

George Tandy, a former Mayor of Drogheda and brother of the famous Napper Tandy, persuaded King George III to sponsor a race at Bellewstown in 1780. The race was called His Majesty's Plate and was valued at £100.

All the English monarchs continued to sponsor a race at Bellewstown until 1980, when Queen Elizabeth II decided to discontinue the race. However, the Queen continues to sponsor a race at the Curragh called the Royal Whip.