Dundalk Stadium is a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

and

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

venue in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is located to the north of

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. The total build cost €35million with a modern grandstand, elevated viewing areas, restaurant and bars.

Horse racing

The Dundalk all-weather horse track to go alongside the new greyhound track that had opened earlier, officially opened on 26 August 2007 costing a further €24million. The course is a floodlit 1¼ mile left-handed oval, and races are run on an all-weather

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common track ...

surface. A turf racecourse at Dundalk, which was mainly used for

National Hunt 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: ...

events, was closed in 2001. The present all-weather track, reserved for flat races, was opened in August 2007. The highest class horse races to be run at the venue are the

Diamond Stakes The Diamond Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Dundalk over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 150 yards (2,149 metres), an ...

, which was promoted from Listed to

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...

status in 2009, and the Mercury Stakes which was upgraded to Group 3 status in 2018.

Notable races

Greyhound racing

In 1999 the Dundalk Race Company PLC and Dundealgan Greyhound Racing Company Limited merged to form Dundalk Racing (1999) Ltd. This would allow a new horse racing circuit to be built over the existing turf course and a greyhound track inside the main course. The previous

Dundalk Ramparts Greyhound Stadium Dundalk Greyhound Stadium also known as the Ramparts was a greyhound racing stadium off Rampart Lane on Townparks, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. Opening Racing started on 29 October 1930 just eleven days after the Dundalk greyhound racing ...

was closed on 20 November 2000 during which time the horse racecourse was undergoing major changes and despite resistance from the Horseracing Authority both sides were encouraged by the success of Paschal Taggart's Shelbourne Park venture. The Irish racing scene was experiencing some promising growth and Dundalk officially opened their new Dundalk Stadium on 29 November 2003 to the cost of €11 million. The minister for sport John O'Donoghue conducted the opening honours and thanks were given by CEO Jim Martin to Paschal Taggart chairman of the Bord na gCon/Irish Greyhound Board for their help. The track measures 550 yards in circumference providing a galloping circuit as opposed to the previous tight circuit of 440 yards. The kennels are located in a renovated building that was formerly the Tote for the racecourse but plans for a new eighty runner complex are in motion.

Competitions

The Dundalk International is held annually. It is a prestigious invitation event held for Ireland's leading greyhounds and also attracts some of the UK's top hounds. The event is one of the richest one-off races in Ireland (€20,000 in 2016) and is an integral part of the Irish greyhound racing calendar after being inaugurated in 1968. The Irish Sprint Cup (formerly the Irish National Cup) arrived at the track in 2004. *

Dundalk International The Dundalk International is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Dundalk Stadium in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North At ...

Irish Sprint Cup The Irish Sprint Cup formerly known as the Irish National Cup and Irish National Sprint is a greyhound racing competition held annually at Dundalk Stadium in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, ...

Track records

Current Previous

References

{{Greyhound stadiums in Ireland Horse racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Greyhound racing venues in the Republic of Ireland Sports venues in County Louth Sport in County Louth Sport in Dundalk Sports venues completed in 2003 2003 establishments in Ireland