Dundalk Course Guide

The current all-weather track at Dundalk was opened in August 2007 in tandem with an existing greyhound racing track on the infield of the racecourse. Horse racing had originally taken place on a turf track on the same site in Dundalk, but that had closed in 2001.

The all-weather track at Dundalk is acknowledged as one of the finest in Europe and numerous subsequent Group 1 winners have raced and won on it in recent years. Dundalk races all year round with a total of 38 meetings taking place every year, the emphasis being on the winter season from November through to March. The feature race of the year is the Group 3 Diamond Stakes which takes places in October and has been won by the likes of Mastercraftsman and Declaration Of War.

Flat Racing (All-Weather)

The polytrack course, which opened in August, 2007, is a left-handed, oval course, about 10 furlongs in extent, with a run-in of about 2½ furlongs. A 5f chute joins the main course on the home bend just over 3½ furlongs from the finish, while the 1m start is in a short chute at the start of the back straight.

Dundalk is a very fair track. The cutaway rail they introduced in December 2013 was an excellent move and it has drastically reduced the number of hard-luck stories. In general, it rides quite firm and some horses, particularly those that like a softer surface, won’t let themselves down on it. A low draw is a big help over seven furlongs and particularly over the extended mile-and-a-quarter as the bend comes up very quickly indeed after that start. The kickback had been getting a bit worse during the 2014/15 winter season, but they refurbished the surface in July 2015 and that should settle it down and go back to the fair surface it had been for years.

View from the saddle: Mick Kinane

Dundalk Top Times
Last 5 years

All Weather

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f	Manaccan (Standard)	21 Oct 2022	58.05s
6f	Arcanears (Standard)	29 Oct 2021	1m 10.57s
7f	Irish Acclaim (Standard)	08 Oct 2021	1m 23.92s
1m	Friendly (Standard)	05 Nov 2021	1m 35.06s
1m 2f 150y	Phantom Flight (Standard)	26 Sep 2025	2m 11.61s
1m 4f	Amhran Na Bhfiann (Standard)	21 Apr 2021	2m 29.84s
2m	Cozone (Standard)	25 Nov 2022	3m 26.6s

Dundalk Top Trainers
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
A McGuinness	574	68	217	€558,601	11.85%	-€228.63
J P O'Brien	390	53	121	€496,800	13.59%	-€90.16
G M Lyons	190	43	64	€488,398	22.63%	€4.87
D Hogan	413	35	96	€238,797	8.47%	-€226.05
D Marnane	192	31	58	€291,302	16.15%	€24.28
Stephen Thorne	139	30	55	€257,100	21.58%	-€2.02
A Murray	171	29	56	€286,799	16.96%	-€59.28
Daniel Murphy	151	24	41	€250,501	15.89%	€38.73
J C McConnell	503	23	78	€152,400	4.57%	-€259.50
P W Flynn	155	23	34	€182,699	14.84%	-€31.77

Dundalk Top Jockeys
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Colin Keane	400	77	145	€742,196	19.25%	-€126.86
Adam Caffrey	347	46	118	€362,999	13.26%	-€52.21
Luke McAteer	302	40	76	€368,701	13.25%	-€16.46
Declan McDonogh	320	38	95	€335,701	11.88%	-€81.97
Jack Kearney	300	37	93	€300,300	12.33%	-€32.01
James Ryan	443	34	123	€270,898	7.67%	-€106.25
Billy Lee	248	34	93	€289,199	13.71%	-€95.24
Ronan Whelan	260	32	90	€318,301	12.31%	-€102.02
Chris Hayes	455	26	139	€230,998	5.71%	-€255.25
Dylan Browne McMonagle	167	24	47	€243,899	14.37%	-€31.54