Down Royal Racecourse
I have concluded my look at British racecourses and I’m switching across the Irish Sea to look at Ireland’s racecourses. This tour of Ireland’s racecourses begins in the north of Ireland and ancient kingdom of Ulster at Down Royal.
As before in my series of articles on British racecourses, I will look briefly at the track’s location, history, configuration and will also highlight some significant track stats.
History and Location
Down Royal racecourse is one of only two racecourses in Northern Ireland. Although it’s part of the United Kingdom, horse racing in the province comes under the authority of Horse Racing Ireland. Just like with Rugby Union the sport is run on an All-Ireland basis.
The racecourse is located just over 4 miles from the city of Lisburn in Co. Down and just 14 miles from the centre of Belfast.
Racing takes place all year round at the venue and hosts both flat and jumps meetings. The track hosts twelve days racing each year. The two-day Festival of Racing in early November plays host to several graded races, including the Champion Chase, first Grade 1 of the winter jumps season in Ireland, and is the highlight the Down Royal racing calendar.
The two-day Ulster Derby Festival held in June is the highlight of the tracks flat season. Other big race days held at the course take place on St Patrick’s Day and St Stephen’s or Boxing Day as it’s known in Britain.
Racing first took place in the area in 1685 after King James II issued a Royal Charter and formed the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders. The aim of which was to encourage the “Breed in the County of Down”.
“Byerly Turk” one of the three foundation stallions of the Stud Book is said to have raced at Down Royal which if true would make him the most famous horse to have ever raced in the area.
Horse racing has taken place at the present location since the early 18th Century on land donated by the, 1st Marquess of Downshire.
Over 300 years of horse racing in the area looked like it might come to an end in 2018 after a dispute between the owners Merrion Property Group, and the track management, Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders. Thankfully this was averted as Merrion Property Group said they would takeover management of the racecourse.
In 2019 Ladbrokes were unveiled as the new sponsor of Down Royal’s November Festival of Racing in a three-year partnership. The sponsorship deal was the largest in the racecourse’s history.
Down Royal is well served by transport links. For those coming by car from both Belfast & Dublin the track is located on the A1, the main Belfast/Dublin road.
The nearest railway station is Belfast’s Heuston Station. It’s then just a short bus journey to the racecourse. The Belfast Bus Company run a return bus which leaves Donegal Square West one and a half hours before the scheduled first race at Down Royal on race days. The bus service returns approximately one hour after the scheduled last race at Down Royal.
The quickest way to get from Belfast to Down Royal Racecourse is by taxi which costs between £30 – £40 and takes just 17 minutes and if there are four of you it’s cheap and comfortable way to get to the racecourse.
Track Configuration
Flat – A right-handed circuit of just under two miles in circumference and is almost square in shape. – Flat course
The flat course is an undulating and galloping track. There is a downhill run to the straight and a slight uphill finish. Despite the galloping nature of the track there are plenty of turns. It can be a deceptive track and jockeys & horses can get racing too far out which means horses held up can get involved in the finish if the pace hasn’t been judged correctly.
The 5f sprint races, which start from a chute, are all about speed and a low draw can be a big advantage for horses that break well.
Hurdle – Like the flat track the hurdling course is undulating and galloping in nature with a short run in of about 1 & half furlongs from the last. – Hurdle course
Chase – Like the hurdle course the chase course has a short run in from the last. In chases over two miles no fence is jumped more than once. – Chase course
The jumps track is considered a fair track and if a horse isn’t too far out of its ground it has a decent chance if the gallop has been an honest one. On very soft or heavy ground you will often see jockey’s go out wide in search of the best ground.
Down Royal Racecourse Key Stats
Let’s begin by looking at some general stats at the racecourse including clear favourites and winning odds.
The stats below are from Jan 1st, 2015 to the time of writing (10/01/20) and cover all jump meetings at the course.
Once again, I am using the ever useful www.horseracebase.com for all the stats.
Beginning with National Hunt racing.
The results below contain 309 winners from 3365 runners 851 placed and on the flat 116 winners from 1159 runners 317 placed.
Favourites – National Hunt
Clear favourites have produced the following set of results:
- 119 winners from 284 runners 42% -4.54 A/E 1/05 202 placed 71 %.
Breaking those results down into handicap & non-handicap races gives us:
- Non-handicaps – 102 winners from 193 runners 53% +27.53 +27.53 A/E 1.15 150 Placed 78%.
- Handicaps – 17 winners from 91 runners 19% -32.07 A/E 0.69 52 placed 57%.
Summary: Favourites have a good record in National Hunt races at Down Royal with non-handicap favourites winning 53% such races and performing 15% above market expectations.
Favourites – Flat
Clear favourites have produced the following set of results:
- 34 winners from 104 runners 33% -5.81 A/E 0.92 71 placed 68%.
Breaking those results down into handicap & non-handicap races gives us:
- Non-handicaps – 18 winners from 42 runners 43% -0.95 A/E 0.95 34 placed 81%.
- Handicaps – 16 winners from 62 runners 26% -4.86 A/E 0.88 37 placed 60%.
General Stats – Flat
- Odds SP: 12/1 & above.
17 winners from 524 runners 3% -167 A/E 0.68 52 placed 10%.
General Stats – National Hunt
35 winners from 1834 runners 2% -1173 A/E .47 183 placed 10%.
Summary: On the flat and even more so over jumps horses relatively well fancied by the market, horses that are 12/1 & under dominate. The odd big priced winner does pop up occasionally, but they are few and far between and it’s not a pool a punter should be fishing in for potential winners.
Trainers to Note
Given there is more national hunt racing than flat I have concentrated on the jumps racing for a trainer whose runners are worth following at Down Royal. The standout jumps trainer stats wise is Henry De Bromhead.
Henry De Bromhead
One in four of his runners at the track have won in the past five years but even more importantly his runners are performing 31% better than market expectations.
That record improves if we just look at his runners having their first run at the course.
14 winners from 44 runners 32% +41.76 A/E 1.58 21 placed 48%.
System 25: Back Henry De Bromheads runners at Down Royal when having their first run at the track.
Edward Lynam
From a much smaller sample size it may be worth noting any Edward Lynam trained runners racing on the flat over 5f.
But apart from him there are no standout flat trainers on the stats front.
System 26: Back Edward Lynam’s 5f flat runners at Down Royal.
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Hopefully you enjoyed this brief look at Down Royal racecourse.
Next month, I’m staying in the north of Ireland to look at Downpatrick.
Until next timeJohn Burke