Bogside Racecourse

Old hurdles
� SGM

Bogside Racecourse lay approximately one mile west of the town of Irvine, on the Clyde coast.

The first race at Bogside took place in 1867 and was won by The Elk, owned by the Duke of Hamilton. The racecourse was home to the Scottish Grand National, which ran there over a distance of 3 miles 7 furlongs (6,236 m)

The final meeting at Bogside took place on April 10, 1965. After this, the race transferred to Ayr Racecourse, with a course distance of 4 miles 110 yards (6,538 m).

The National Hunt track was about two and a half miles round, with nine plain fences, two open ditches, one water jump and undulating gtound. It had a long run-in on an upward gradient of 370 yards, and was a right-handed track.

For Flat running, the round course was about two miles, with a straight run-in of about 3 furlongs, with a considerable rise half way. There was a straight 6 furlong course with a rise about two furlongs from the winning post, and was a right-handed track.

During World War II, an anti-aircraft battery was located in the middle of the track area.

The nearby Nobel Explosives factory to the west continued to grow after Nobel's death in 1896. Subsequent expansions enveloped the land to the north and the east of the original 400,000 square metre factory site, crossing the River Garnock, and the company would later acquire the land including old Bogside Racecourse. At its peak, the factory covered an area of approximately 8 square kilometres.