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	Pelerin (Standard)	31 Oct 2014	1m 35.13s
1m 2f 150y	Cat O'mountain (Standard)	03 Oct 2014	2m 9.76s
1m 4f	Poitin (Standard)	08 Apr 2016	2m 29.4s
2m	Giant's Quest (Standard)	12 Jul 2014	3m 22.61s

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

Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
M Halford	441	79	162	€793,176	17.91%	-€87.51
Joseph P O'Brien	431	65	135	€542,727	15.08%	-€68.99
A P O'Brien	189	47	70	€540,039	24.87%	-€33.11
John Feane	292	36	104	€276,449	12.33%	-€71.65
G M Lyons	226	35	103	€300,379	15.49%	-€105.20
A McGuinness	296	33	81	€260,294	11.15%	-€66.26
J S Bolger	202	33	63	€337,814	16.34%	-€16.63
D Marnane	202	21	70	€195,712	10.4%	-€109.44
D English	238	19	64	€159,966	7.98%	-€102.00
P Martin	206	17	62	€115,726	8.25%	-€112.42

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	463	75	178	€614,052	16.2%	-€64.46
P J Smullen	355	71	126	€699,362	20%	-€66.55
D O'Brien	237	49	90	€443,980	20.68%	-€21.35
S Foley	461	48	159	€446,567	10.41%	-€192.89
W M Lordan	397	42	107	€362,062	10.58%	-€76.51
K J Manning	350	37	106	€368,122	10.57%	-€126.61
D P McDonogh	280	35	107	€294,191	12.5%	-€78.92
R P Whelan	297	32	92	€249,559	10.77%	-€58.43
O J Orr	271	32	77	€272,293	11.81%	-€57.88
C D Hayes	289	29	90	€245,621	10.03%	-€143.02