Racehorses and golf courses - Racecourses with a Golf Course
Famous Racecourses with Golf courses on-site!
Suppose you've been to the races before. In that case, you'll recall the familiar sounds of punters shouting the odds, the starting gates opening, the commentator announcing, 'And they're off’, crowds cheering, and the thunderous sound of galloping horses.
What you might not associate with horse racing is the crack of metal on urethane, shouts of 'fore,' 'great shot,' or occasionally 'you Muppet.' This incongruous mix of sounds only happens when you combine racehorses and golf courses.
You'd expect this combination to co-exist only with stringent health and safety rules aimed at preventing any accidents from occurring. Clearly, one golfer in Auckland, New Zealand, didn't read the local rules before he collected his ball from the track, oblivious to the pack of racehorses bearing down on him.
Let's take a look at five other locations where golf is played within the inner rails of a racecourse.
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Newcastle Racecourse is located in High Gosforth Park. It is home to the Northumberland Plate Day, a horse race that takes place each year in late June or early July.
Popularly known as the 'Pitmen's Derby,' a nod to the local miners, it's the final race of the three-day-long Northumberland Plate Festival.
At two miles and 56 yards long and open to thoroughbred horses aged three years or older, the race is worth £150,000. It attracts a diverse crowd, usually dressed to the nines, to enjoy a day at the races.
The Northumberland Golf Club has 12 holes laid out within the Newcastle Racecourse and has six holes that run either towards, alongside, or away from the racecourse.
The 6,687-yard par 72 course regularly plays host to national and regional championships, including the Open Regional Qualifier.
Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, UK
Musselburgh Racecourse is located in the Millhill area of Musselburgh, close to the River Esk.
It provides year-round racing action and is known for its Sensational 6 race days, including New Years Day, Scottish Festival Trials Weekend, Easter Saturday, Ladies Day, The Summer Finale weekend, and The Edinburgh Cup.
A few of the nine holes at Musselburgh Links were shortened when the racecourse was built around it, way back in the early 1800s. The Old Golf Course, which crosses the racetrack a few times, claims to be the oldest in the world.
Musselburgh Links hosted The Open Championship six times between 1872 and 1892 when it was played alternately at St. Andrews, Prestwick, and Musselburgh Links.
Dublin, Ireland, UK
Built-in 1888, the Leopardstown Racecourse is located just south of Dublin city centre.
The racecourse plays host to the famous Christmas Festival, Dublin Racing Festival, Bulmers Live at Leopardstown, and Longines Irish Champions Weekend.
Leopardstown also hosts the Irish Gold Cup, a steeplechase event open to horses aged five years or older. Top Irish sportsman and jockey AP McCoy won the event in 2015, soon after he announced his retirement.
The Leopardstown Golf Centre, with its 18-hole golf course, 74-bay floodlit driving range, and 500m² floodlit all-weather putting and chipping area, is situated in the heart of the famous race track.
Durban, South Africa
The Greyville Racecourse is home to Africa's Greatest Horseracing Event, the Durban July, an event for South Africa's finest thoroughbreds that first took place in 1897.
The right-handed pear-shaped track is 2800 metres long and is situated just north of Durban's CBD in the suburb of Berea. Interestingly, a road from Berea to the CBD passes under the course, and the two subways for the road create some unusual track gradients.
First established as a links course within Greyville Racecourse in 1892 and later rebuilt in 1932, the 6,206 metre par 73 Royal Durban Golf Club hosted the 1985 South African Open. It also hosted the 1975 Commonwealth Tournament, in which Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle participated.
Alexandra, Victoria, Australia
Travel about 150 kilometres northeast of Melbourne CBD, and you will find the Alexandra Racing Club, a high country racecourse nestled in a beautiful rural setting.
Not quite at the Grand National scale, this racecourse is best known for its hosting of the Alexandra Cup, one of the 33 races in the picnic racing season.
At picnic races, you'll find the jockeys are a little bigger, the horses a little slower, and the spectators are primarily families, enjoying some country hospitality.
Established at its current location in 1935, the 5,462 metre par 70 Alexandra Golf Club course quite literally shares space with the racecourse. Golfers need to cross the track at least 14 times in 18 holes.
We don’t have too many golfing tips, but if you want some tips for horse racing, we’ve got you covered.
