The current racecourse which is close to the town centre first opened in 1858 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.
It is run over seven days with both national hunt and flat races taking place.
It is the final festival to take place in the summer, the last before Christmas and second only to the Galway Races in attendances.
[citation needed] The most valuable race run at Listowel is the Guinness Kerry National.
It is run on the Wednesday of the Harvest Festival over a distance of 3 miles and worth €200,000 in prize money.