Dundalk Stadium

Dundalk Stadium is a horse and greyhound racing venue in Ireland. It is located to the north of Dundalk in County Louth.[1]

Dundalk Stadium
LocationRacecourse Road, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, Ireland
Coordinates54.020896°N 6.383218°W / 54.020896; -6.383218
Date opened2003
Race typehorse & greyhound racing
Official website

The total build cost €35million with a modern grandstand, elevated viewing areas, restaurant and bars.

Horse racing

The Dundalk all-weather horse track to go alongside the new greyhound track that had opened earlier, officially opened on 26 August 2007 costing a further €24million.[2]

The course is a floodlit 1¼ mile left-handed oval, and races are run on an all-weather Polytrack surface.[3][4]

A turf racecourse at Dundalk, which was mainly used for National Hunt events, was closed in 2001. The present all-weather track, reserved for flat races, was opened in August 2007. The highest class horse races to be run at the venue are the Diamond Stakes, which was promoted from Listed to Group 3 status in 2009,[5] and the Mercury Stakes which was upgraded to Group 3 status in 2018.

Notable races
Month DOW Race Name Type Grade Distance Age/Sex
March Friday Patton Stakes A W Flat Listed 1m 3yo
October Friday Diamond Stakes A W Flat Group 3 1m 2f 150y 3yo +
October Friday Mercury Stakes A W Flat Group 3 5f 2yo +

Greyhound racing

In 1999 the Dundalk Race Company PLC and Dundealgan Greyhound Racing Company Limited merged to form Dundalk Racing (1999) Ltd. This would allow a new horse racing circuit to be built over the existing turf course and a greyhound track inside the main course. The previous Dundalk Ramparts Greyhound Stadium was closed on 20 November 2000 during which time the horse racecourse was undergoing major changes and despite resistance from the Horseracing Authority both sides were encouraged by the success of Paschal Taggart's Shelbourne Park venture.[6]

The Irish racing scene was experiencing some promising growth and Dundalk officially opened their new Dundalk Stadium on 29 November 2003 to the cost of €11 million. The minister for sport John O'Donoghue conducted the opening honours and thanks were given by CEO Jim Martin to Paschal Taggart chairman of the Bord na gCon/Irish Greyhound Board for their help.[7]

The track measures 550 yards in circumference providing a galloping circuit as opposed to the previous tight circuit of 440 yards. The kennels are located in a renovated building that was formerly the Tote for the racecourse but plans for a new eighty runner complex are in motion.[8]

Competitions

The Dundalk International is held annually.[9] It is a prestigious invitation event held for Ireland's leading greyhounds and also attracts some of the UK's top hounds. The event is one of the richest one-off races in Ireland (€20,000 in 2016) and is an integral part of the Irish greyhound racing calendar after being inaugurated in 1968.[10] The Irish Sprint Cup (formerly the Irish National Cup) arrived at the track in 2004.[11]

Track records

Current [12][13]

Yards Greyhound Time Date Notes
350Blame the Game[14]18.4615 November 2019
400Brodys Magic[15]20.738 August 2020Irish Sprint Cup semi final
400 hurdlesDistant Legend21.9015 August 2009
525Swanley Chick[16]28.141 August 2020
550Droopys Verve[17]29.3912 July 2018
575Vaguely Noble[18]30.9212 July 2016
600Boleys Fella[19]32.3012 July 2019
620Dromana Blue33.515 December 2007
670Prince Monalulu36.474 February 2005
900Ballymac Bonnie[20]49.8212 July 2016

Previous

References
  1. "Dundalk Stadium – Irelands only All Weather Horse Racing Track. Greyhound Racing at Dundalk Stadium". dundalkstadium.com.
  2. "About Racecourse". Go Racing.
  3. "Sport - The Times". timesonline.co.uk.
  4. "AIR - Association of Irish Racecourse Owners". air.ie.
  5. "Waiting for Perfection".
  6. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  7. "Dundalk presents all-weather track plan". Irish Examiner. 30 August 2004.
  8. "Dundalk". Greyhound Data.
  9. Genders, Roy (1981). The Encyclopedia of Greyhound Racing. Pelham Books Ltd. ISBN 07207-1106-1.
  10. "Feature Events" (PDF). Irish Greyhound Board.
  11. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008, page 173. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  12. "Track records". Greyhound Star. 22 January 2018.
  13. "Dundalk Track records". Greyhound Star. 7 January 2019.
  14. "Find us on Facebook SS0/S0 350". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  15. "The BarOne Racing.com Irish Sprint Cup Semi-Final". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  16. "THE DUNDALK STADIUM A0/A1 525". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  17. "Dundalk International final meeting". Irish Greyhound Board.
  18. "Racing Post A3 Tri Distance(525/550/575) Final". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  19. "Fanfruit Ltd. Open 600". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  20. "REDBOOK.IE est 1980 Open 900". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  21. "400y track record". Irish Greyhound Board.
  22. "400 track record". Irish Greyhound Board.
  23. "The BarOne Racing.com Irish Sprint Cup Semi-Final". Greyhound Racing Ireland. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  24. "Track record 2016". Irish Greyhound Board.
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