Hamilton Park Racecourse

Hamilton Park Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue currently located in Hamilton, Scotland, a short distance from the southeast of Glasgow, at Henty Highway Hamilton VICTORIA, and situated between the coastline and The Grampians, an approximately 4-hour drive from Melbourne. However, it was originally situated in Chatelherault on the other side of town, where it was inaugurated in 1782 and just closed in 1907. It was relocated to the current location and opened in 1926 while owned by the Hamilton Park Trust since 1973. In 1864 the Hamilton Racecourse and the Warrnambool Club were the backbones of Jumping racing in the South West.

Hamilton racecourse holds 10 to 12 meetings per year, including hurdle races. It hosts flat races between May and October every year and is part of Scotland’s great sporting heritage. On July 18, 1947, it became the first course in Britain to stage an evening fixture, while on May 8, 1971, the racecourse became the first to hold a morning meeting. It also became the first racing club in Australia to conduct six jumping races on the one program in August 2000.

The Lanark Silver Bell, formerly run at Lanark racecourse, was resurrected at Hamilton in 2008. The original Silver Bell is believed to have been presented to the Royal Burgh of Lanark by King William I of Scotland in 1165. The racecourse also staged sell-out stand-alone concerts in three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012. More recently, in 2015, they were also the first racecourse in Scotland, and the first small independent course in the UK, to provide racegoers with free Wi-Fi.