The future of Down Royal racecourse in Northern Ireland was shrouded in doubt on Wednesday evening following a statement by the track’s management that it will close at the end of the year.
The statement was later contradicted by Merrion Property Group, which bought Down Royal for £6.1m in 2005 but its plan to run the track as a going concern from 1 January may depend on whether it can also take over the 12 fixtures scheduled for the course next year.
Down Royal, which is one of only two racecourses in Northern Ireland, is due to stage its biggest meeting of the season next month when a two‑day Festival will include the track’s only Grade One event, the JNwine.com Champion Chase.
The race is the undoubted highlight of the season at Down Royal and has been won by outstanding chasers, including Kauto Star, Florida Pearl and Looks Like Trouble but its programme also includes two Grade Two events over jumps as well as the Ulster Derby on the Flat in June.
Racing has been staged at Down Royal since the early 18th century under the terms of a royal charter granted by King James II in 1685. The charter created the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders to administer racing at the course, a role it has maintained for 333 years.
The DRCHB continued to manage the course and its racing programme on a 13-year lease following its sale in 2005 but its lease will expire on 31 December. As a result, the DRCHB said it would wind down operations over the next two and a half months and look for an alternative site to stage racing, adding “there is every likelihood Down Royal will find a new home”.
Brighton 1.30 Harlequin Rose 2.00 Canford Dancer 2.30 Punjab Mail 3.05 Channel Packet 3.35 Zeshov 4.05 Rux Ruxx 4.40 Gnaad (nap) 5.15 Social Butterfly
Carlisle 1.40 Green Zone 2.10 Du Soleil 2.45 Good Boy Bobby 3.15 Windsor Avenue 3.45 Cooking Fat 4.20 Quids In 4.55 Middlebrow 5.30 Kalifornia
Uttoxeter 2.20 Kublai 2.55 Brandy James 3.25 Contented 3.55 Coologue 4.30 Monsieur Lecoq 5.05 Sounds Of Italy
Wolverhampton 5.25 Swanton Blue 6.00 Anandita 6.30 Smart Illusion 7.00 Plentyinthetanksir 7.30 Repaupo 8.00 Sumner Beach 8.30 Lord Murphy 9.00 Raven’s Raft
Chelmsford City 5.45 Gentle Look 6.15 Itizzit (nb) 6.45 Awe 7.15 Field Gun 7.45 Navajo Squaw 8.15 Thaayer 8.45 Global Wonder
Tips by Greg Wood
Merrion then issued a statement insisting it would assume responsibility for staging racing at Down Royal from 1 January and suggesting 2019 will see “the beginning of an exciting new era” for the course.
The confusion is further complicated by external factors, including the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is believed to make a contribution to the track’s prize fund.
Despite being located in the UK Down Royal is licensed by Horse Racing Ireland. While racecourses in Great Britain have ownership of their major fixtures, much may depend on whether it is the DRCHB, Merrion or HRI that ultimately owns its 12 fixtures.
