Boyle Sports Study Shows Downpatrick and Down Royal racecourses are very popular with racegoers
A new study from Boyle Sports reveals Downpatrick Racecourse is one of the top racecourses in Britain and Ireland, with Down Royal also among the best.
Ascot has been ranked the best racecourse in the UK and Ireland, beating the likes of Cheltenham, Aintree and Leopardstown, according to a brand new study by bookmaker BoyleSports, who offer the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup odds.
The study found that Downpatrick is riding high in 12th place of the 85 racecourses, while Down Royal scores in the middle of the pack in 38th.
The next race meeting in Downpatrick, the first of the year, will be the Randox Ulster National meeting on Sunday 7th April. Gates open at 12 noon and the first race is a 1.30pm approx.
Cheltenham racecourse, which will welcome hundreds of thousands of racing fans to the Festival in March, only ranks eighth.
Six racecourses in Ireland make the top 10 in a study that assigned each track a score based on the key experiences that make up a good raceday.
BoyleSpots created the weighted index, which gave each racecourse a score out of 100, which took into account each track’s average Google review, the cost of a Guinness, the number of big races, public transport links and its popularity according to Google searches.
Ascot performed best with a top score of 77.87, while Cheltenham’s score of 55.42 was only enough to rank eighth.
Leopardstown, home of the popular Dublin Racing Festival, followed in second with a score of 66.44, the best of the Irish racecourses.
The Curragh was a close third at 64.12, followed by Newmarket (61.13) and Punchestown (59.46) to complete the top five.
Ballinrobe is sixth with a score of 56.96, ahead of York (56.84). Cheltenham comes next in eight, followed by Killarney (54.66) and Fairyhouse (53.81).
Methodology.
To create the index, each category was assigned a weighting which contributed to the overall score: average Google review – 40, big races – 30, Guinness cost – 20, public transport score – 5, popularity by Google searches – 5.
‘Big races’ are defined as a Grade 1, 2, 3, premier handicap or listed race. Racecourses without a listed or public cost of Guinness were assigned the average for the racecourses in the country (UK £6.15, IRE €5.69). A qualitative score out of five was assigned to each racecourse to rate the public transport options, this considered frequency, choice and distance of available public transport options to get to the racecourse.
Article courtesy of Boyle Sports: Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds
| The best UK and Ireland racecourse ranked | |||||||
| Racecourse | Racecourse | Racecourse | Racecourse | ||||
| 1 | Ascot – 77.87 | 23 | Goodwood – 45.94 | 45 | Huntingdon – 36.20 | 67 | Ludlow – 28.40 |
| 2 | Leopardstown – 66.44 | 24 | Sandown Park – 45.38 | 46 | Epsom – 36.19 | 68 | Nottingham – 27.13 |
| 3 | Curragh – 64.12 | 25 | Doncaster – 45.13 | 47 | Hexham – 36.13 | 69 | Catterick – 26.65 |
| 4 | Newmarket – 61.13 | 26 | Tipperary – 44.89 | 48 | Salisbury – 36.06 | 70 | Leicester – 26.20 |
| 5 | Punchestown – 59.46 | 27 | Roscommon – 44.32 | 49 | Southwell – 35.55 | 71 | Hereford – 26.17 |
| 6 | Ballinrobe – 56.96 | 28 | Taunton – 44.32 | 50 | Chester – 35.08 | 72 | Redcar – 25.85 |
| 7 | York – 56.84 | 29 | Listowel – 44.14 | 51 | Warwick – 34.97 | 73 | Newton Abbot – 25.60 |
| 8 | Cheltenham – 55.42 | 30 | Gowran Park 43.19 | 52 | Beverley – 34.75 | 74 | Carlisle – 25.26 |
| 9 | Killarney – 54.66 | 31 | Cork – 43.07 | 53 | Thurles – 33.87 | 75 | Bath – 24.75 |
| 10 | Fairyhouse – 53.81 | 32 | Kelso – 43.01 | 54 | Haydock Park – 33.79 | 76 | Ayr – 24.72 |
| 11 | Naas – 52.96 | 33 | Hamilton Park – 42.65 | 55 | Great Yarmouth – 32.99 | 77 | Exeter – 24.72 |
| 12 | Downpatrick – 52.59 | 34 | Bangor-on-Dee – 42.36 | 56 | Market Rasen – 32.96 | 78 | Wolverhampton – 24.60 |
| 13 | Navan – 52.32 | 35 | Cartmel – 41.83 | 57 | Thirsk – 32.57 | 79 | Fontwell Park – 23.73 |
| 14 | Kilbeggan – 51.10 | 36 | Tramore – 41.52 | 58 | Kempton Park – 31.99 | 80 | Wetherby 22.53 |
| 15 | Bellewstown – 50.90 | 37 | Wexford – 40.57 | 59 | Stratford-on-Avon – 31.00 | 81 | Ffos Las – 22.22 |
| 16 | Laytown – 50.88 | 38 | Down Royal – 40.55 | 60 | Pontefract – 30.93 | 82 | Brighton – 19.71 |
| 17 | Dundalk – 50.47 | 39 | Musselburgh – 39.30 | 61 | Newcastle – 30.92 | 83 | Sedgefield 19.51 |
| 18 | Aintree – 49.73 | 40 | Sligo – 38.80 | 62 | Lingfield Park – 30.62 | 84 | Windsor 19.21 |
| 19 | Limerick – 49.48 | 41 | Plumpton – 38.57 | 63 | Chelmsford City – 29.35 | 85 | Worcester 13.40 |
| 20 | Newbury – 48.83 | 42 | Perth – 38.50 | 64 | Chepstow – 28.99 | ||
| 21 | Galway – 48.39 | 43 | Wincanton 32.28 | 65 | Uttoxeter – 28.91 | ||
| 22 | Clonmel – 46.57 | 44 | Ripon – 37.54 | 66 | Fakenham – 28.83 | ||
