Hamilton Horse Racing Tips

Hamilton Racecourse

Hamilton Park is 15 miles south of Glasgow City Centre. It can easily be reached via the M8 and M74 motorways. Trains run direct from Glasgow Central with services from Edinburgh Waverley to Motherwell with connections to Hamilton West. The railway station is about 15 minutes’ walk from the course or a three-minute taxi ride.

Hamilton Horse Racing Tips

Hamilton is a sharp, right handed track. There is a dip at the three furlong marker before a steep uphill finish all the way to the winning post. Horses can get racing too early at Hamilton and become very leg-weary in the closing stages, especially in soft ground. It is a course that can suit front-runners and previous form at the track is always a positive.

The draw bias at the course is worthy of close attention when considering your tips for Hamilton races today as it varies with the conditions. In soft or heavy ground, there is a slight advantage in being drawn low in sprint races. There is no discernible advantage on good ground in sprints. However, low numbers do have the edge over a mile on any ground.

Hamilton Horse Racing History

Racing first took place in Hamilton at Chatelherault in 1782 with racing on the flat and over jumps. National Hunt racing at Hamilton ended in 1907 when the original venue was closed.

The current site on Bothwell Road was officially opened in 1926 and has been in the care of the Hamilton Park Trust since 1973. In July 1947, Hamilton staged the first ever evening meeting in Britain. The course also holds the unusual honour of having held the first morning meeting in May 1971. Hamilton was also the pace-setter in becoming the first course to provide free wi-fi to racegoers in 2015.

In January 2018 South Lanarkshire Council approved plans for a multi-million pound hotel to be built within the grounds of the Hamilton Park. It will replace the existing car park with a 118 guest room property and illustrates the lofty ambitions for the future of the racetrack.

Glasgow Stakes

Hamilton currently stages 18 flat race meetings per year. The biggest race of the season is the Glasgow Stakes in mid-July. The supporting card also features the Scottish Stewards’ Cup. The race attracts horses who have entries in the £250,000 Stewards’ Cup at Glorious Goodwood at the end of the month.

There are always plenty of Hamilton horse racing tips for the competitive Lanark Silver Bell which takes place in late August. One of the most popular meetings held at Hamilton during the summer is the charity fund raiser “Saints and Sinners” night in mid-June.

Hamilton Races

Hamilton is now home to the Lanark Silver Bell, one of the oldest trophies in the world of sport. Local folklore claims that the original Bell was a gift from William the Lion to the Royal Burgh of Lanark in 1160. The bell was commissioned by the Town Council in 1608 from Henry Lindsay, a Goldsmith in Edinburgh. The name of the winner was originally engraved in a small silver shield attached to the bell. A new trophy was commissioned from Hamilton and Inches in 2012. The race was held at Lanark until that racecourse closed in 1977. The race is a handicap over a mile and three furlongs and was revived at Hamilton Park in 2008.

The most valuable race of the season at Hamilton is the £42,000 Listed Glasgow Stakes for three-year-olds over a mile and three furlongs. The race was originally limited to colts and geldings and held during the Dante Stakes meeting at York. It was opened to fillies and transferred to Hamilton in 2006.

Famous Races and Racehorses at Hamilton

Prior to being moved to Hamilton, the Glasgow Stakes was considered an option for potential Derby runners. Commander in Chief won the race for trainer Henry Cecil and jockey Pat Eddery in 1993. Eddery preferred the Dante Stakes winner Tenby who was odds-on favourite at Epsom with Mick Kinane stepping in for the winning ride on Commander in Chief. The colt went on to win the Irish Derby on his next start and was eventually retired to stud in Japan.

Sir Michael Stoute is the most successful trainer of all time in the Glasgow Stakes with seven winners. They include Foyer (1994) and Dr Massini (1996) who both ran in the Derby next time. His most recent winner was Tam Lin in the first running to be staged here at Hamilton in 2006.

Mark Johnston has dominated since the race was relocated, winning five of the next eleven renewals. His runners often feature among Hamilton racing tips and he won the Glasgow Stakes four successive times between 2007 and 2010. Maputo was his most recent winner in 2013.

The race produced another high profile winner in 2014 in Postponed, trained by Luca Cumani and ridden by Andrea Atzeni. He won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot the following season and subsequent victories included the Coronation Cup and International Stakes.

The Scottish Stewards’ Cup was won by Orion’s Bow in 2016, his fifth consecutive victory. He was trained by the late David Nicholls and ran on too strongly for Hoof It, himself a former Goodwood Stewards’ Cup winner. Orion’s Bow was made favourite for the Goodwood race and was only denied victory by Dancing Star.

Hamilton Betting Tips

Local trainer Keith Dalgleish tops the statistics over the past three seasons in terms of winners and prize money. Top of our trainers to follow in our Hamilton betting tips is Tim Easterby. Backing each of his runners would have yielded a level stakes profit over the same period. Kevin Ryan and Michael Dods have also recorded a healthy strike rate at Hamilton Park in recent seasons.

Joe Fanning is the leading jockey here but it is Daniel Tudhope who rates as one of the best horse racing tips for Hamilton today. He has the best strike rate at 23% while Graham Lee and Tony Hamilton also enjoy plenty of success here.