Racing's Ayr of distinction

JULIAN ARMFIELD, OF BBC WORLD SERVICE, EXPLAINS WHY SEPTEMBER'S WESTERN MEETING IS THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF THE COUNTRY'S RACING CALENDAR

Ayr Racecourse is to Scotland what Newmarket is to England and the Curragh to Ireland. It is the ‘headquarters' of the Scottish turf and provides racing of the highest quality, both on the flat and over jumps, throughout the year.

The Scottish Grand National meeting in April attracts huge crowds but there is no question that the three-day Western Meeting in September is the highlight of Scotland's racing year.

During that week, the town, centre of a major tourist area offering unspoiled beaches, stunning scenery and numerous championship golf courses, bristles with racing visitors from every corner of the British Isles and further afield. Social events abound and there is an extra special buzz on the racecourse.

Nowhere is this more noticeable than in Western House, which is the most remarkable building to be found on any British or Irish racecourse. A folly, built in 1920, it contains spacious bars and banqueting rooms almost as plush as a London gentleman's club.

The Western Meeting first took place in 1824, shortly after the foundation of the Western Meeting Club, the company which has run Ayr racing to the present day.

It quickly became one of Scotland's most important social occasions. In his Racecourse Atlas of 1903, F.H. Bayles described the meeting as that “at which most of the elite of Scottish Society bestow their patronage and supported by drafts of horses from all the principal North
country stables.

“The gathering, as the Scots designate their festiv...

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• By : Julian Armfield
• In : Best of Scotland
• Issue : 10
• Page : 58
• Words : 963