Ayr horse racecourse info

Ayr is Scotland's only Grade One racecourse, situated near the superb Ayrshire coastline, famous for its golf and Robert Burns pilgrims. Ayr stages both jump and flat racing including Scotland’s most prestigious jump race, the Scottish National in April, the Scottish Derby in July and the Ayr Gold Cup in September and the highly competitive Ayr Gold Cup in September.

Flat Course, Steeplechase and Hurdle Course
The course at Ayr is a flat left handed oval of about one and a half miles with a long run in which will test the most resolute of gallopers. Always considered to be a fair test for a good horse, Ayr benefits from being close to the West coast, the moderate climate and sandy soil combining to produce an excellent racing surface at all times of the year.

Course Details Flat:
Left-handed 1 1/2m oval, galloping with minor undulations. National Hunt:
Left-handed, mainly flat. Circuit 1m4f.

Notable Races
The Ayr Gold Cup:
The Ayr Gold Cup is a flat horse race in the United Kingdom for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a straight 6 furlongs (1,207 m) at Ayr Racecourse in September. It was first run in 1804 when the race was contested over two separate heats of 2 miles. This bears little resemblance to the much shorter race of today, which is now the richest sprint handicap in Europe. It was traditionally run on Friday, but moved to Saturday in the early 1990s. The current maximum number of runners is 28, taken from the 28 highest weighted horses entered for the race. The next 28 in the list compete for the Ayr Silver Cup over the same course and distance one day earlier, and the result of this can sometimes hint at a possible draw advantage in the Ayr Gold Cup.

The Firth of Clyde Stakes:
The Firth of Clyde Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in the United Kingdom for two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres) at Ayr Racecourse in September. It was upgraded to a Group 3 race in 2004, before which it had held Listed status. It is so named because Ayr is situated on the coastline of the Firth of Clyde.

The Scottish Grand National:
The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt horse race in the United Kingdom for five-year-old and above horses. It is run over a distance of 4 miles 110 yards (6,538 metres) at Ayr Racecourse in April. It is a handicap chase, and is often contested by horses which ran previously in the Grand National at Aintree. There are twenty-seven fences to be jumped in the race. The race moved to its present venue in 1966 after the closure of its original venue, Bogside Racecourse, where the race had been run over a distance of 3 miles 7 furlongs (6,236 metres) since 1867.


Effect Of Draw:
In large fields over the straight course low numbers are favoured by some.
There is often much debate concerning the effect of the draw (the allocation of stall positions from which the horses start the race), and whether there is any advantage in being drawn low, middle or high. Horses with the highest stall numbers run on the stands' side, while those with low numbers are on the far side. However, there are no apparent trends when comparing the draw positions of previous winners. In 2006 the draw took place in public two days before the race, in the paddock at Ayr Racecourse. The names of the 28 runners were placed in a hat, and as each name was drawn, the trainer (or their representative) was given a minute to choose an available stall number for their horse.


5 day weather forecast for Ayr Race Course

Contact Ayr horse racing course

The Western Meeting Club
Ayr Racecourse
2, Whitletts Road
Ayr
KA8 0JE

Tel: 01292 264179
Fax: 01292 610140

e-mail: info@ayr-racecourse.co.uk
Internet site: www.ayr-racecourse.co.uk

How to get to Ayr race course