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	Winter Lion (Standard)	11 Nov 2016	3m 26.29s

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	498	76	160	€643,728	15.26%	-€92.28
M Halford	417	76	153	€792,021	18.23%	-€87.22
A McGuinness	326	42	98	€325,413	12.88%	-€57.77
A P O'Brien	138	40	51	€485,058	28.99%	-€21.78
J S Bolger	208	35	62	€347,024	16.83%	-€14.06
G M Lyons	216	33	97	€283,774	15.28%	-€107.20
John Feane	267	28	94	€222,193	10.49%	-€103.98
D Marnane	195	22	68	€202,504	11.28%	-€94.69
Anthony McCann	223	19	50	€160,375	8.52%	-€19.53
P Martin	203	18	57	€121,886	8.87%	-€103.92

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	462	79	177	€627,300	17.1%	-€45.85
P J Smullen	280	56	101	€568,369	20%	-€56.48
D O'Brien	208	48	76	€457,081	23.08%	-€12.26
S Foley	470	46	161	€426,577	9.79%	-€209.39
R P Whelan	299	41	92	€374,865	13.71%	-€26.79
W M Lordan	363	40	101	€339,728	11.02%	-€10.55
O J Orr	299	37	91	€316,416	12.37%	-€24.42
K J Manning	334	35	95	€346,699	10.48%	-€131.83
D P McDonogh	256	29	96	€252,796	11.33%	-€80.79
C P Hoban	380	28	80	€212,937	7.37%	-€136.03