How to watch horse racing in Ireland

Racing is the one sport where the free option is the good option. The festivals people actually watch, Irish and British, are on RTÉ and Virgin Media, and the subscription channel is only for the person who wants a wet Tuesday at Thurles.

Who has it this season

• Free-to-air Most of it Review
  • Free

  RTÉ has the big Irish festivals (Punchestown, Galway, Leopardstown at Christmas, the Irish Grand National) and Virgin Media's deal for all four days of Cheltenham, the Grand National and the Derby ran to the end of 2026.

• NOW Some of it Review
  • €14.99/day pass A day pass covers one day of it.
  • €38.99/month

  Sky Sports Racing covers Ascot and the other Arena and Ascot courses in Britain. Every Irish meeting is on Racing TV instead (via Sky or Virgin, price on their pages).

• Sky Some of it Review
  • €45/month (12-month contract)

  Sky Sports Racing covers Ascot and the other Arena and Ascot courses in Britain. Every Irish meeting is on Racing TV instead (via Sky or Virgin, price on their pages). Same channels, on a 12-month Sky contract.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

RTÉ covers Irish racing under its agreement with Horse Racing Ireland. The last published deal listed 29 fixtures a year including Punchestown, Galway, the Irish Grand National and Leopardstown at Christmas; HRI signed a confidential five-year media-rights package from January 2024 and has not published RTÉ’s share of it.

Virgin Media shows ITV Racing’s UK meetings, about 50 days a year including all four Cheltenham Festival days, the Grand National, the Derby, Goodwood, the Ebor and Champions Day, under a deal covering 2024 to 2026. RTÉ has also shown Cheltenham and the Grand National live.

Racing TV has every meeting at all 26 Irish racecourses to at least 2029, plus its UK courses. In Ireland it is sold through Sky or Virgin Media at their prices. Sky Sports Racing, part of a Sky Sports or NOW Sports membership, has Ascot and the Arena courses. ITV’s own coverage is a UK arrangement; Virgin Media is the Irish route to it.

The cheapest way to watch most of it

An aerial, and if yours has given up, here’s what a new one costs. RTÉ for the Irish festivals, Virgin Media for Cheltenham week and Aintree, and nothing to cancel because nothing was bought. For the vast majority of people who watch racing four or five times a year, that is the whole plan.

Racing TV is a year-round add-on on a Sky or Virgin contract, so it only suits the person who bets on, or owns a leg of, something running midweek. There is no day pass for it. If you already have NOW Sports for the football, Sky Sports Racing is in there at no extra cost, which covers Ascot.

What’s free

RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Saorview for the Irish festivals. Virgin Media One and Two and Virgin Media Play for Cheltenham, the Grand National, the Derby and the rest of the ITV Racing calendar, if the 2027 extension is confirmed. Racing TV also runs a free ad-supported channel on Samsung TV Plus, which is worth knowing if you have a Samsung telly.

The calendar

• 26 to 29 December 2026: Leopardstown Christmas Festival, RTÉ.
• Late January or early February 2027: Dublin Racing Festival, Leopardstown. dates on leopardstown.com (official source, opens in a new tab)
• Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027: Cheltenham Festival, Champion Day to Gold Cup Day, Virgin Media if extended.
• Easter 2027: Irish Grand National, Fairyhouse, RTÉ.
• Late April to early May 2027: Punchestown Festival, RTÉ.
• Late July to early August 2027: Galway Races, RTÉ.

Free, unless you are very committed. Sort me out with the finder for everything else you watch, and if your telly has no Saorview, a cheap streaming stick runs both players. Everything else is on the watch index.