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

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is di ...

, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

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 Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, was completed in 1888 and acquired by the Horse Racing Board of Ireland in 1967. Many important races are held here and racing takes place all year round, with about 22 meetings per year. In 1941, noted

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

pilot Hugh Verity, who flew many secret agents at night into and out of farm fields in France, force landed on the Race Course. He was interned briefly before escaping back to England. The ''Leopardstown Hall of Fame'' honours famous Irish horse racing trainers, jockeys and horses like, 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 Cheltenha ...

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, and The Boomtown Rats have all performed here.

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

Luas Green Line The Green Line () is one of the two lines of Dublin's Luas light rail system. The Green Line was formerly entirely in the south side of Dublin city. It mostly follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for pos ...

stop is located 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 Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

References

External links

Official site
{{Horse racing in Ireland Leopardstown Racecourse 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