Leopardstown Racecourse is an Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown,

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ( ga, Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three s ...

, south of Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. The course, built by Captain George Quin and modelled on Sandown Park Racecourse in England, was completed in 1888 and acquired by the Horse Racing Board of Ireland in 1967. Many important races are held there; racing takes place all year round, with about 22 meetings per year. In 1941, noted Royal Air Force pilot Hugh Verity, who flew many secret agents at night into and out of farm fields in France, force-landed on the racecourse. He was interned briefly before escaping back to England. The Leopardstown Hall of Fame honours famous Irish horse racing trainers, jockeys and horses, including Vincent O'Brien, Tom Dreaper, Pat Taaffe and Pat Eddery,

Arkle Arkle (19 April 1957 – 31 May 1970) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by ''Archive'' out of ''Bright Cherry'', he was the grandson of the unbeaten (in 14 races) flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred by Mar ...

Dawn Run Dawn Run (1978–1986) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse (Deep Run - Twilight Slave) who was the most successful racemare in the history of National Hunt racing. She won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1984 and the Chelten ...

Levmoss Levmoss (1965–1977) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse whose career lasted from 1967 to 1969. He was the leading stayer in Europe in 1969, when he won the premier long-distance races in England (Ascot Gold Cup) and France (Prix du Cadran) ...

and Nijinsky.

Facilities

Leopardstown golf course and club house is situated in the middle of the racetrack. The course also has designer shops, a fitness centre, the Leopardstown Pavilion, Fillies Café Bar, the Silken Glider Restaurant, the Paddock Food Hall, Club 92 nightclub, Madigans pub, and numerous bars and snack areas. A farmers' market is also on-site every Friday. The "Bulmers Live at Leopardstown" music festival takes place every summer between June and August. Acts such as Horslips, the Human League,

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

, and the Boomtown Rats have all performed there.

Notable races

The Irish Champion stakes is the most important race at the course and one of the World Series of Racing. It is held every September and attracts the cream of racing thoroughbreds.

Transport

Leopardstown Racecourse was originally served by

Foxrock railway station Foxrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is within the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Roman Catholic parish of Foxrock. History The suburb of Foxrock was d ...

on the

Harcourt Street line The Harcourt Street Railway Line ( ga, Seanlíne Iarnróid Shráid Fhearchair) was a railway line that ran from ''Harcourt Street'' in Dublin through the southern suburbs to Bray. It was one of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway's two northe ...

until it closed in 1958. A Luas

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

stop is located in the top of

Carrickmines Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...

at the southern end of the racecourse. However, as of January 2016 it remains unopened and devoid of all signage, with trams passing through non-stop. The nearest active Luas stop is Central Park.

References

External links

Official site
{{Horse racing in Ireland

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

Sports venues in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Sports venues completed in 1888 1888 establishments in Ireland Cross country running venues

Facilities

Notable races

Transport

See also

References

External links