Down Royal developments .

BREAKING NEWS: Racing WILL continue at Down Royal in 2019 as land owner moves to clarify position.

Has a Brexit feel about it so far . The current management team at the Maze seem to be doing a good job , so the prospect of a new management team being as good would not be immediately apparent . Presumably all current procedures and agreements have stood the test of ( current) time and would even survive any complications arising from Brexit . If it ain't broke don't fix it . And January the first 2019 is not far away .

Kelly, think if I was the land owner (Merrion Property Group) I would bring in my own team of consultants to review all matters and report back on a future strategy.

The ghosts of Tralee , Baldoyle , Phoenix Park lurk in my mind , catchme .   333 years is a long time .

It would be a shame if it goes, they have done a incredible job with the place over the past 20yrs . I always look forward to the Nov meeting it seems to signal the start of battle between Ireland and England , a cracking racing track though not great viewing. Hopefully its sorted and we can continue to enjoy racing there...

Agree with you about Down Royal W/R,,I see  Samcro is set to make his seasonal debut at Down Royal early next month, J/ fav for the Champion Hurdle, Also fav for the Arkle at Cheltenham in march,  The bookies taking no chances with this one.

Shows you the quality of horse they've been attracting these past few years Kelly , another reason this should be sorted quickly...

Sorry that should be Frank..

Paul Nicholls would miss D/Royal, he has takin a lot of big prizes over the years,

Sure has..

Gigginstown superstar Samcro will stay over hurdles this season with a tilt at the Champion Hurdle the main aim, trainer Gordon Elliott has revealed.

The six-year-old, who won four of his five starts over hurdles including the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, is set to begin his campaign in the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle at Down Royal on Friday.

“I’ve spoken to Michael and Eddie O’Leary and we’ve decided to keep him over hurdles this season in the hope that he can develop into a Champion Hurdle contender," Elliott said in his Betfair blog. "I’ve never had a Champion Hurdle horse before and Gigginstown have yet to win it and we thought that it was worth giving Samcro a shot at that race.”

I really don't like this course. I don't like the configuration, the viewing and a whole lot more. Move the meeting to Downpatrick!

The Maze

Why did they change the name?

I still refer to it as the Maze , the younger guys don't identify with the term .  There is also a class of citizen in this part of the world who think of the Maze as a prison  , others who like anything with the term "royal" in it . Only thing I can definitely go with is that it will never be called Long Kesh .