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° 1′ 14.03″ N, 6° 22′ 54.38″ W
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 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
350Kildallon Ranger18.4912.07.2012
400Droopys Steel [14]20.8103.08.2018Irish Sprint Cup third round
400 hurdlesDistant Legend21.9015.08.2009
525Burnt Beans28.1720.05.2017
550Droopys Verve [15]29.3912.07.2018
575Vaguely Noble30.9212.07.2016
600Ballycanal Chief32.5715.08.2010
620Dromana Blue33.5105.12.2007
670Prince Monalulu36.4704.02.2005
900Ballymac Bonnie49.8212.07.2016

Previous

Yards Greyhound Time Date Notes
350Mulcair Jo18.7112.07.2006
360Copeland Ranger19.4315.07.2004
360Lauragh Empire19.4313.08.2004
360Wellington19.1230.10.2004
400Mabels Dilemma21.1115.08.2005Irish Sprint Cup Final
400Droopys Rodger21.0621.07.2006
400Ciaras Castle20.9623.03.2007
400Gingko20.9521.07.2007
400Heisman [16]20.9428.07.2017Irish Sprint Cup second round
410Geldrops Touch21.5526.02.2005
525Graigues Dynasty28.6201.04.2004
525Killeigh Grand28.5315.10.2004
525Phoenix Paddy28.4603.11.2006
525Open Door28.3912.07.2007
525Ballymac Tipp28.3120.09.2010
550Hes The Bizz29.8805.02.2004
550Holborn Major29.8512.07.2004
550Like A Shot29.8125.02.2005
550Droopys Electric29.7312.07.2006Dundalk International
550Si Senor29.4712.07.2007
550Droopys Roddick [17]29.4012.07.2016
575Lunar Boy31.4504.09.2004
575Dromana Blue31.1405.12.2007
575Stateside Troika31.0914.12.2013
600Mobile Dubh32.9004.03.2004
600Grandad Pat32.8419.11.2005
600Fairly Smart32.8221.10.2006
600Ballyhill Beauty32.5923.03.2009
620Air Force Honcho33.9422.04.2004
620Westmead Force33.9303.07.2005
620Martinstown Lass33.9315.08.2005
620Martinstown Lass33.8613.01.2006
620Winetavern Oscar33.7204.02.2006
900Shelbourne Kay50.6112.11.2005
900Hulkster50.4612.07.2006
900Shelbourne Kay50.1415.08.2006
900Flying Winner49.9912.07.2008
910Air Force Honcho51.0820.11.2004
960Beaming Surprise54.6222.05.2004
400 HDistant Legend21.9015.08.2009
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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. http://www.irish-racing.com/v3newsitem?prv=4&prdt=2009-01-16%2010:51:19
  6. Hobbs, Jonathan (2007). Greyhound Annual 2008. Raceform. ISBN 978-1-905153-53-4.
  7. "Dundalk presents all-weather track plan". Irish Examiner.
  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.
  13. "Dundalk Track records". Greyhound Star.
  14. "400 track record". Irish Greyhound Board.
  15. "Dundalk International final meeting". Irish Greyhound Board.
  16. "400y track record". Irish Greyhound Board.
  17. "Track record 2016". Irish Greyhound Board.

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