Wexford racecourse handed a top-half finish in rankings of all 85 racecourses in UK and Ireland

A new study has handed Wexford a top-half finish in rankings of all 85 racecourses in UK and Ireland…

Ascot has been ranked the best racecourse in the UK and Ireland, beating the likes of Cheltenham, Aintree and Leopardstown, according to a brand new study by bookmaker BoyleSports, who offer the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup odds.

The study found that Wexford placed in placed in 37th of the 85 racecourses to finish a very respectable midfield of all tracks.

Cheltenham racecourse, which will welcome hundreds of thousands of racing fans to the Festival in March, only ranks eighth.

Six racecourses in Ireland make the top 10 in a study that assigned each track a score based on the key experiences that make up a good raceday.

BoyleSports created the weighted index, which gave each racecourse a score out of 100, which took into account each track’s average Google review, the cost of a Guinness, the number of big races, public transport links and its popularity according to Google searches.

Ascot performed best with a top score of 77.87, while Cheltenham’s score of 55.42 was only enough to rank eighth.

Leopardstown, home of the popular Dublin Racing Festival, followed in second with a score of 66.44, the best of the Irish racecourses.

The Curragh was a close third at 64.12, followed by Newmarket (61.13) and Punchestown (59.46) to complete the top five.

Ballinrobe is sixth with a score of 56.96, ahead of York (56.84). Cheltenham comes next in eight, followed by Killarney (54.66) and Fairyhouse (53.81).

Methodology

To create the index, each category was assigned a weighting which contributed to the overall score: average Google review – 40, big races – 30, Guinness cost – 20, public transport score – 5, popularity by Google searches – 5.

‘Big races’ are defined as a Grade 1, 2, 3, premier handicap or listed race. Racecourses without a listed or public cost of Guinness were assigned the average for the racecourses in the country (UK £6.15, IRE €5.69). A qualitative score out of five was assigned to each racecourse to rate the public transport options, this considered frequency, choice and distance of available public transport options to get to the racecourse.

The best UK and Ireland racecourse ranked
	Racecourse		Racecourse		Racecourse		Racecourse
1	Ascot – 77.87	23	Goodwood – 45.94	45	Huntingdon – 36.20	67	Ludlow – 28.40
2	Leopardstown – 66.44	24	Sandown Park – 45.38	46	Epsom – 36.19	68	Nottingham – 27.13
3	Curragh – 64.12	25	Doncaster – 45.13	47	Hexham – 36.13	69	Catterick – 26.65
4	Newmarket – 61.13	26	Tipperary – 44.89	48	Salisbury – 36.06	70	Leicester – 26.20
5	Punchestown – 59.46	27	Roscommon – 44.32	49	Southwell – 35.55	71	Hereford – 26.17
6	Ballinrobe – 56.96	28	Taunton – 44.32	50	Chester – 35.08	72	Redcar – 25.85
7	York – 56.84	29	Listowel – 44.14	51	Warwick – 34.97	73	Newton Abbot – 25.60
8	Cheltenham – 55.42	30	Gowran Park 43.19	52	Beverley – 34.75	74	Carlisle – 25.26
9	Killarney – 54.66	31	Cork – 43.07	53	Thurles – 33.87	75	Bath – 24.75
10	Fairyhouse – 53.81	32	Kelso – 43.01	54	Haydock Park – 33.79	76	Ayr – 24.72
11	Naas – 52.96	33	Hamilton Park – 42.65	55	Great Yarmouth – 32.99	77	Exeter – 24.72
12	Downpatrick – 52.59	34	Bangor-on-Dee – 42.36	56	Market Rasen – 32.96	78	Wolverhampton – 24.60
13	Navan – 52.32	35	Cartmel – 41.83	57	Thirsk – 32.57	79	Fontwell Park – 23.73
14	Kilbeggan – 51.10	36	Tramore – 41.52	58	Kempton Park – 31.99	80	Wetherby 22.53
15	Bellewstown – 50.90	37	Wexford – 40.57	59	Stratford-on-Avon – 31.00	81	Ffos Las – 22.22
16	Laytown – 50.88	38	Down Royal – 40.55	60	Pontefract – 30.93	82	Brighton – 19.71
17	Dundalk – 50.47	39	Musselburgh – 39.30	61	Newcastle – 30.92	83	Sedgefield 19.51
18	Aintree – 49.73	40	Sligo – 38.80	62	Lingfield Park – 30.62	84	Windsor 19.21
19	Limerick – 49.48	41	Plumpton – 38.57	63	Chelmsford City – 29.35	85	Worcester 13.40
20	Newbury – 48.83	42	Perth – 38.50	64	Chepstow – 28.99
21	Galway – 48.39	43	Wincanton 32.28	65	Uttoxeter – 28.91
22	Clonmel – 46.57	44	Ripon – 37.54	66	Fakenham – 28.83