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 October.
Racing has been staged in Hamilton since 1782 and it is now part of Scotland?s great sporting heritage. More than two centuries worth of punters have visited the course wanting to place a bet or simply just enjoy a grand day out at the races.
Several landmark events in racing have occurred on Hamilton Park?s grounds. On 18 July 1947 it became the first course in Britain to stage an evening fixture while on 8 May 1971 the racecourse became the first to hold a morning meeting. These innovations would become commonplace for racecourses around the country.
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.
Hamilton Park is noted for its reputation of mixing good quality racing with glamour and entertainment. Top jockeys like Frankie Dettori have appeared at the racecourse and live music performances from the likes of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jason Donovan, Pixie Lott, Alesha Dixon and Dannii Minogue have helped establish Hamilton Park as a high-profile venue in its area.
Continuing along this theme, the venue staged a sell-out stand alone JLS concert on 23 July 2010, along with live performances from The Saturdays and The X Factor finalists Olly Murs, Stacey Solomon, Danyl Johnson. In 2011 the Racecourse staged two stand alone concert events by the Wanted and Westlife. In 2012 the racecourse once again hosted two stand alone concerts by music legend Tom Jones and Australian pop star Peter Andre and reformed pop group Steps.
Former Livingston FC chief executive Vivien Kyles replaced Alastair Warwick who moved on to Ascot in June 2008.