The Bogside Racecourse
Situated on the banks of the River Irvine, Bogside Racecourse was opened by the 12th Earl of Eglinton in 1807 with Bogside Races being initiated in 1808. Racing lapsed between 1824 and 1838. The course was then extended, and steeplechasing was introduced in Scotland, with the first steeplechase being recorded at Bogside in 1839. After another lapsed period, the Bogside races were revived again.
In 1858 the first Scottish Grand National was run. Then known as the West of Scotland Grand National, it was first held in Renfrewshire before moving to Bogside in 1867 following objections by a local church. The inaugural winner at Bogside was The Elk, owned by the Duke of Hamilton. The race changed to its present name of The Scottish Grand National in 1880. The Scottish Grand National remained at Bogside until the track closed in 1965 when the Horse Racing Betting Levy Board withdrew its financial funding. The race then moved to Ayr the following year.
A day out at the races
What made Bogside the racecourse of choice? Partly due to the firm sandy soil which made excllent racing conditions, but it was railway station on the dorrstep which gave the public easy access to the racing.
The station opened on 23 March 1840. Access was restricted at this station until 1 June 1894 when it became fully open to the public. The station was renamed Bogside Race Course on 30 June 1952,[1] of which after the closure of Bogside Racecourse was once again renamed Bogside on 14 June 1965. The station closed permanently to passengers on 2 January 1967
A Short History
1806 – 1824
Racing under Recognised Rules took place with the support and sponsorship of the 12th Earl of Eglinton. By 1824 racing was suspended owing to a lack of horses.
1836 – 1852
Racing was revived by the Eglinton Racing Club, the most memorable meeting being the 1839, the Year of the Eglinton Tournament. 1839 also saw the introduction at Bogside of Steeplechasing, the first racing of it’s kind to be staged in Scotland over specially constructed obstacles. In 1852 the 13th Lord Eglinton was appointed Lord lieutenant of Ireland and racing was suspended in his absence.
1867 – 1965
In 1867 racing resumed at Bogside with the birth of the Scottish Grand National. Since then racing under both Jockey Club and National Hunt Rules have taken place regurarly with the exception of the war years. The Bogside (Irvine) Racecourse Company Ltd. was formed in 1923 and retaining his family’s continuous association with the course, the present 17th Earl of Eglinton and Winton is a Director of the Company
The Racecourse demise
Sadly the policy of the Levy Board and the Jockey Club and National Hunt Committee is that no further racing would take place at this historic course with it’s unique natural turf and they have decreed that no further fixtures will be granted to Bogside.
Unlike the Grand National at Aintree, however the fixture of the Scottish Grand National is assured and a special fixture for this famous race will be granted to Ayr in 1966.
The official closure of Bogside racecourse took place with the Final National Hunt meeting in April 1965, but this was preceded by the last of the flat racing fixtures with the meeting in September 1964.
The final race was took place at 5pm on Saturday 10th April 1965 with The Bogside Farewell Handicap Steeplechase run over two miles and about 125 yards. Painted Warrior took the win with jocky John Leech and trained by Bobby Fairbairn.
The Scottish Grand National had been run at 3:25pm earlier that afternoon over three miles and about seven furlongs.
Fabled Bogside Jockeys
During the final day of Flat Racing in September 1964, an apprentice named Willie Carson rode Tudor Times over a mile to victory in the Stanecastle Handicap.
When recalling memories of Bogside flat racing, one routinely always thinks of jockey Alec Russell.
The names Bogside racecourse and Alec Russell are synonomous with each other since July 1957 when Alec rode all six winnersa on the card.
Alec booted home Double Up (2/5), Cligarry (2/1), Wage Claim (100/8), Courtlier (8/1), Newton (8/13) and Roselime (11/9) to complete and amazing 1957/1 six timer!
Nobody achieved a similar feat until Frankie Dettori rode seven winners out of seven at Ascot in September 1996.
Dual Sports
The golf course and the racecourse have gone hand in hand for undreds of years. The course and club was established in 1887 with the racecourse starting life back in 1808.
The course has undergone multiple design changes throughout the years and with some of the imagery, you can see the different routes throughout the years.
An early map shows the course headed south after the 6th and holes 7, 8 and 9 headed down the side of the course, before holes 10 and 11 headed back through the racecourse.
The old 12th hole is now the current 9th with the 1th, 12th and 13th of the current course being additions from land purchased from adjoining farms, the Earl of Eglinton and designed by the legendary James Braid in 1925.
