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	Primo Uomo (Standard)	03 Mar 2017	57.08s
6f	Freescape (Standard)	02 Nov 2018	1m 10.9s
7f	Surrounding (Standard)	05 Oct 2018	1m 23.14s
1m	Ummalnar (Standard)	13 Nov 2020	1m 35.38s
1m 2f 150y	Massif Central (Standard)	16 Nov 2018	2m 11.97s
1m 4f	Poitin (Standard)	08 Apr 2016	2m 29.4s
2m	Construct (Standard)	27 Nov 2020	3m 25.33s

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

Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Joseph P O'Brien	579	88	188	€801,552	15.2%	-€197.19
M Halford	363	62	133	€610,280	17.08%	-€40.77
A McGuinness	455	54	131	€444,919	11.87%	-€156.75
G M Lyons	187	34	81	€329,414	18.18%	-€47.79
A P O'Brien	116	30	42	€391,966	25.86%	-€22.60
J C McConnell	360	26	86	€162,224	7.22%	-€132.67
Denis Hogan	422	25	93	€176,838	5.92%	-€298.56
A Slattery	224	17	73	€118,103	7.59%	-€134.63
John Feane	143	17	47	€126,103	11.89%	-€8.33
J S Bolger	137	17	33	€185,372	12.41%	-€49.68

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

Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
C T Keane	389	63	144	€547,019	16.2%	-€55.46
R P Whelan	364	61	129	€567,576	16.76%	-€1.29
D P McDonogh	314	42	118	€329,710	13.38%	-€120.88
C D Hayes	366	41	110	€377,401	11.2%	-€120.11
S Foley	406	37	133	€338,952	9.11%	-€185.00
G M Ryan	254	33	81	€215,047	12.99%	-€26.25
B M Coen	348	31	87	€254,569	8.91%	-€148.40
S M Crosse	269	31	81	€271,256	11.52%	-€105.45
W J Lee	214	31	58	€254,906	14.49%	-€29.92
D O'Brien	114	29	49	€343,344	25.44%	-€20.76