Ayr Racecourse Guide

Ayr Racecourse is a dual purpose track, racing all year round, with the Scottish Grand National Festival in April amongst the highlights.

Racing takes place all year round, with both National Hunt action and Flat racing to the fore, and the Ayr Gold Cup Festival in September is the main attraction on the level.

Ayr Racecourse Location

Where is Ayr Racecourse?

Ayr Racecourse is located at Whitletts Road, Ayr and is Scotland's premier racecourse. It is situated near the superb Ayrshire coastline, famous for its championship golf courses and as the birthplace of Scotland's National Bard, Robert Burns.

The track is located just an hour away from the city of Glasgow and it is one of five racecourses still in operation in Scotland.

How to get to Ayr Racecourse

By Train

There is a regular, reliable rail service from Ayr to all parts of the country and the station is less than five minutes by road or a 21 minute walk from the course.

By Bus

Stagecoach operate regular and reliable services to Ayr Racecourse from a number of locations.

By Car

The M77 links Ayr with Glasgow which is only 60km away and Edinburgh is a 133 km drive. Parking is free at Ayr Racecourse to all patrons.

Ayr Racecourse Layout

Flat races at Ayr take place over distances from five-furlongs to two miles and one furlong, and the track is a left-handed oval of 12 furlongs, including a half-mile run-in.

The course is generally flat, with some gentle undulations, but all sprints are held on the straight course.

Ayr's course is particularly wide, so it can accommodate large fields of up to 28 runners.

For National Hunt racing, Ayr will lay out six hurdles, three on either side of the bend, or for chase events the runners jump over nine fences, including two with an open ditch.

Due to its coastal location, Ayr does have to battle with the wet, windy and cold weather, but the excellent drainage on site means they can often host meetings in the most challenging conditions.

Enclosures and Viewing Areas

Ayr Racecourse is renowned for providing some of the finest hospitality at any sporting venue in the UK.

• Restaurants – two fine dining restaurants are available in The Roman Warrior and The Chancellor providing expansive menus with locally sourced produce.

• Private Boxes – located in the Princess Royal Stand, the private boxes offer exclusive dining and stunning views over the racecourse.

• Rothesay Stand – corporate hospitality in an exclusive location just past the finishing line with superb views of the racecourse.

• Marquees – permanent marquees with access to the track, paddock and Paddock Lawns for full raceday hospitality.

Key Races at Ayr

Ayr's highest-profile jumps race is the Scottish Grand National, which takes place over four miles in April.

It is usually held a week after the Grand National at Aintree, and only Red Rum has completed the Aintree-Ayr double in the same season.

Both the Scottish Champion Hurdle and Future Champion Novices' Chase are Grade 2 races, while on the Flat, the Firth of Clyde Stakes is for two-year-olds only, at Group 2 level, on the Flat.

However, the Ayr Gold Cup is one of the most iconic sprint handicaps in Europe and it has been won by the likes of Roman Warrior, Lochsong and Coastal Bluff.

Key Races

Flat

• Rothesay Stakes

• Land O'Burns Fillies Stakes

• Harry Rosebery Stakes

• Arran Scottish Fillies' Sprint Stakes

• Doonside Cup

• Firth of Clyde Stakes

• Ayr Gold Cup

Jumps

• Scottish Grand National

• Scottish Champion Hurdle

• Future Champion Novices' Chase

Ayr Racecourse History

Racing at Ayr dates back to 1576, although the first official meeting did not take place until 1771 at a racecourse situated in the Seafield area of the town.

The former racecourse is now playing fields, known as the Old Racecourse, and part of Seafield golf course.

The Western Meeting Club was formed in 1824 and the same year the Western Meeting, now the (Ayr) Gold Cup Festival, was established.

Another important date in the history of Ayr Racecourse was in 1950 when the jumps course was established meaning there was all year round racing for the first time.

Following that, in 1966, Ayr was firmly put on the jumping map when the Scottish Grand National was transferred here after the closure of Bogside Racecourse at Irvine the year before.

A £35 million Masterplan incorporating an array of improvements to the track was planned in the early 2000s by Ayrshire businessmen Richard Johnstone and Alan Macdonald and it came to fruition in 2006, with the redevelopment including the creation of The Princess Royal Exhibition, Banqueting and Conference Centre over four floors amongst the extensive upgrades that helped transform Ayr into Scotland's premier racecourse.