RACE was founded in 1973 by Mr. Stan Cosgrove.  Since then RACE has taken 70-100 applications every year.  They do a range of courses here.

• Grooms
• Amateur Jockeys
• Trainers
• Professional Jockey Development
• Trainee Jockey

RACE gets more visitors and tourists coming every year.  They also get many famous Jockeys coming into RACE e.g. Johnny Murtagh and Ruby Walsh.  RACE has 39 staff working: 19 full time, 9 part-time and 11 on a Community Employment Scheme.  The staff helps RACE to be at its highest standard today.  The annual budget at RACE is €450,000.

The pupils at RACE study a variety of subjects.

• Stable & Yard Routine
• Racehorse Care & Exercise
• Communications
• Math’s
• IT
• Personal Effectiveness
• Art
• French
• Health Related Fitness
• Spiritual Development

It takes a young, dedicated, disciplined person, with a love of horses, and the outdoor life. The Trainee Jockey Course takes 32 pupils every year.  For the 10 months Keith Rowe says:  “They need an affinity for working with horses and being outdoors in all weathers, and they put in the long hours.  They need to be fairly athletic and strong of constitution”.

The pupils spend 3 months in RACE, then they are allocated to a trainer for the rest of the course, based around the Curragh area.  The trainers that have so far taken on trainees are:

• John Oxx
• D K Weld
• Kevin Prendergast
• Michael Halford
• Michael Grassick