Down Royal Racecourse is a horse racing venue near Lisburn in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The most valuable race run there is the

Ladbrokes Champion Chase The Ladbrokes Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Down Royal over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and during its r ...

, run at the Northern Ireland Festival of racing in November. The most valuable

flat race National Hunt flat races, informally known as bumper races, are a type of flat racing but run under National Hunt racing rules in Britain and Ireland. National Hunt flat races were created on 15 July 1891 when a conference between the stewards of ...

to be run there annually is the Ulster Derby. Racing has been taking place on the current course, at Maze near Lisburn, since, the early 18th Century on land donated by Arthur Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, but the history of Down Royal goes further back to 1685 when King James II issued a Royal Charter and formed the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders. In 1750 King George II donated £100 to run King's Plate and to the present day a race named Her Majestys Plate is run in July over 1 mile 5 furlongs with the prize money contributed to by the Privy Purse. Although actually in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, racing at Down Royal comes under the authority of

Horse Racing Ireland Horse Racing Ireland (HRI; ga, Rásaíocht Capaill na hÉireann) is the governing body of horse racing on the island of Ireland. It is based in the Curragh, County Kildare, next to the racecourse of that name. HRI was founded in 2001, succeedi ...

as horse-racing in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

is divided on a

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

basis. In October 2018 a dispute arose between the owners, Merrion Property Group, and the track operators, Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders. The Corporation announced that it would cease operations at the end of 2018 while Merrion, stated that they would run the course from 1 January 2019. Some reports suggested that the course would close. In January 2019 the operation of the course passed to Merrion Property Group.

Notable races

References

External links

Website
Sports venues in County Antrim Sports venues in County Down Sport in Lisburn Buildings and structures in Lisburn {{UK-horseracing-venue-stub