AS anyone who has tried to build any type of house or infrastructure in Ireland lately will tell you, it’s almost certainly odds-on that the timeline for construction and planning will take longer than anticipated. It turns out that racecourses aren’t immune to that issue either - even projects with state backing.

It was all the way back in March 2019 that Horse Racing Ireland announced it was “seeking expressions of interest from existing racecourses and prospective new venues” for the development of a second all-weather track in Ireland. Tipperary was selected that December. Fast forward to the end of 2025, and it was only revealed last week that Irish racing received government approval to proceed with the project.