Tralee Racecourse

Last updated

Tralee Racecourse
AddressIreland
TypeHorse racing venue

Tralee Racecourse was a horse racing venue in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It was located at Ballybeggan Park about two miles to the north east of Tralee town centre. It ceased to operate in 2008 with fixtures transferred to other racecourses. [1]

Ballybeggan Park (formerly a deer park owned by the family of Daniel O’Connell [2] [3] ) became the permanent site of Tralee Racecourse in 1898. [4] The racecourse hosted a week long meeting annually in late August as part of the Rose of Tralee International Festival. Many well known racehorses have been successful here including Dawn Run (ridden by her then 62-year-old owner, Charmian Hill [5] ), Vintage Crop, Desert King, Monty's Pass, Vintage Tipple and Alexandrova. There was also a nine hole golf course within the racecourse but this was closed in 2001. [6] [7]

In the early 2000s as the declining standard of facilities at the venue contributed to falling attendances the long-term viability of the racecourse was in doubt. [7] In the Celtic Tiger period of economic boom in Ireland the racecourse land became a valuable landbank. In 2007 a majority of the shareholders in the company that owned the racecourse voted to sell it to a property development consortium. [4] [8] The last fixture took place on 1 October 2008 and the final horse race run at Tralee Racecourse was the Denny Havasnack (Q.R.) Race over two miles and one furlong won by 'P'Tit Fute'. [9] The Post-2008 Irish economic downturn meant development plans for the racecourse site were never realised [10] and it has since hosted other equestrian events such as point-to-point meetings [11] [12] and pony racing. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aintree Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in Liverpool, England

Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May and June, October (Sunday), November and December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newbury Racecourse</span> Horse racing, conference and events venue in England

Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the Lockinge Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vintage Crop</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Vintage Crop was a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for becoming the first northern hemisphere trained runner to win Australia's premier race the Melbourne Cup. The chestnut gelding competed in flat racing in Ireland, England, and Australia from 1992 to 1995. He won 16 races in Ireland, England, and Australia. For his performance during the 1993 racing season he earned the Cartier Award for Top Stayer.

Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums used by Kerry GAA's Gaelic football team and the stadium of the hurling team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Park Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in Scotland

Hamilton Park racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue in Hamilton, Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It is a flat racing venue, with a season which runs from May to September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in England

Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates back to the early sixteenth century, with 1539 cited as the year racing began, although some sources give a date of 1512 for the first races in Chester. It is also thought to be the smallest racecourse of significance in England at 1 mile and 1 furlong (1.8 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elwick Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Elwick Racecourse is a Thoroughbred horse-racing venue located on Goodwood Road within Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia. It is located in close proximity to the Brooker Highway, Hobart Showground, Derwent Entertainment Centre, Glenorchy Art and Sculpture Park and the River Derwent. The Racecourse has a picturesque outlook across the river, as well as being dominated by views of kunanyi / Mount Wellington. Elwick features at least 110 race meetings and 210 trial days a year, but is most well known for hosting the Hobart Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverley Racecourse</span> Racecourse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Beverley Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

Chelmsford City racecourse, originally known as Great Leighs Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Great Leighs near Braintree, Essex, England. When it opened in April 2008, it was the first entirely new racecourse in the UK since Taunton opened in 1927. It went into administration in January 2009, and racing did not resume until January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hereford Racecourse</span>

Hereford Racecourse is a horse racing venue located in Hereford, Herefordshire, England, owned by Herefordshire Council and operated by Arena Racing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curragh Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland

The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March until late October. Guided tours of the venue are available outside of race days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punchestown Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland

Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National Hunt Festival. The racecourse itself is right-handed with an undulating hurdle and steeplechase track. The hurdle course is one mile six furlongs in distance while the chase course is 2 miles. Punchestown Racecourse also has the only cross country banks course in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Racecourse</span> Defunct horse racing venue in England

Manchester Racecourse was a venue for horse racing located at a number of sites around the Manchester area including; Kersal Moor, New Barns, Weaste and Castle Irwell, Pendleton, then in Lancashire. The final home of the course, Castle Irwell, was closed in 1963. Despite its name, the course was never actually located within the boundaries of the ancient township of Manchester or the subsequent city of Manchester.

Dundalk Stadium is a horse and greyhound racing venue in Ireland. It is located to the north of Dundalk in County Louth.

The Ffos Las racecourse is a Welsh horse racing, equestrian sports and conferencing venue situated in Ffos Las, Wales. The Ffos Las racecourse was built at the site of an open cast coal mine after mining operations ceased.

Greenpark Racecourse was a horse racing venue in Limerick, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse racing in Ireland</span>

Horse racing in Ireland is intricately linked with Irish culture and society. The racing of horses has a long history on the island, being mentioned in some of the earliest texts. Domestically, racing is one of Ireland's most popular spectator sports, while on the international scene, Ireland is one of the strongest producers and trainers of Thoroughbred horses. The Irish horse racing industry is closely linked with that of Great Britain, with Irish horses regularly competing and winning on the British racing circuit.

Mullingar Racecourse was a horse racing venue in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland. It was located at Newbrook about two miles to the southwest of Mullingar town centre alongside the disused Mullingar to Athlone railway line. The racecourse opened at the Newbrook site in 1852 following the completion of the Dublin to Mullingar railway line in 1848. It ceased to operate in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry F.C. (Ireland)</span> Irish association football club

Kerry Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Tralee, County Kerry. They play their home matches at Mounthawk Park.

References

  1. ↑ "The close of Tralee". Irish Independent. 6 October 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Racing festival extended by additional day". The Kerryman. 11 August 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Future of Tralee back on the table". Irish Times. 21 August 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Tralee racetrack sold in €40m development deal". Irish Examiner. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Paddy Mullins obituary". The Guardian. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  6. ↑ "Ballybeggan Park". Irish Times. 20 June 2000. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Outcry at plan to sell Tralee racecourse". Irish Times. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Shareholders agree to sell Tralee racecourse". RTÉ Sport. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Full Result 6.35 Tralee - 1 October 2008". Racing Post. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Stack Park move on hold". The Kerryman. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Horse racing returns to Ballybeggan". The Kerryman. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Update on Tralee Point to Point". p2p.ie. May 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Ballybeggan Course On Track For August Race Meeting". TraleeToday.ie. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  14. ↑ "Rose of Tralee, Ballybeggan Races 2014". PacWebTV. 21 August 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.