Hamilton Park Racecourse

Hamilton Park racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue in Hamilton, Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It is a flat racing venue, with a season which runs from May to September.

The very first race to take place in Hamilton was in 1782 at a site in Chatelherault, situated just outside the town. By 1785, the course had three racing fixtures and staged jump racing until 1907 when the course was closed.

In 1926, racing moved to their current location on Bothwell Road having raised £100,000 to revive racing. The racecourse opened with a two-day meeting held on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th July 1926, with 30,000 racegoers attending on the Friday, which was greatly exceeded on the Saturday.

The revival of racing at Hamilton Park made it one of the newest courses in the country and became the second course in Lanarkshire - with Lanark Racecourse later closing in 1977.

Hamilton Park was the first racecourse in the country to stage an evening meeting in 1947, something that is now common place through the industry. A Trust was formed in 1973 to secure racing at Hamilton Park for all time.

The present racecourse opened in 1926 and since 1973 it has been owned by the Hamilton Park Trust which ploughs back all profits into developing the course.

The Lanark Silver Bell is one of the most ancient Racing Trophies in Britain, yet its origins are disputed. The Bell disappeared without trace for many years. It was rediscovered in 1836 in Lanark Town Council’s vaults when they were in the process of moving to their new offices in Hope Street.

Many believed the Bell to have been gifted from King William ‘The Lion’ of Scotland in approximately 1165.