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Broomlands Drive, Townhead, Irvine, Ayrshire.

POSTCODE———————————-KE12 0EZ

LOCATED————————————-The Ayrshire town of Irvine is located twelve miles north of Ayr, with the venue situated half a mile east of Irvine town centre.

ORIGINAL SITE——————————Built on a narrow strip of land that separated a Laundry Business and an area known as Rack Riggs.

DATE CONSTRUCTED———————1932

DATE VENUE OPENED——————–1932
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.

FIRST MEETING—————————–December 30th 1932.
Greyhound Racing only.

LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———–Independent
All venues covered would have to be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refer to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——-Ball Hare type.
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progressed.

DISTANCES————————————300 and 460 yards.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.

CIRCUMFERENCE—————————-300 yards.
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.

BIG RACE NAMES—————————-None found

STADIUM SHARED WITH——————-Nothing known of.

LAST MEETING——————————–Still racing during February 1969.
Greyhound Racing only.

STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————–1969-70
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.

STADIUM DEMOLITION———————Late 1960’s.

BUILT ON SITE———————————Car Park and housing on Bradbury Glebe.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.

EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY———————Nothing known of.

FURTHER COMMENTS———————- A very tight track with tight bends due to the narrow strip of land it had been built on.

A 1968 OS Map. Courtesy of Old Maps.
An article from a local newspaper dated April 15th 1933.
A race card dated April 27th 1972. Item courtesy of Mr G Yates.

Another of the Scottish towns to host Greyhounds Racing at two different venues, is the one in the Ayrshire town of Irvine, a town situated 12 miles north of Ayr. The first track to open in Irvine the Townhead Greyhound track, a venue situated within half a mile southeast of Irvine’s town centre.

It had been constructed on a narrow section of land that lay just off Broomlands Drive, developing between a laundry business and a boundary wall of Rack Riggs. The narrow section of land created a track that had long straights but very tight bends yet had a circumference of 300 yards. Distances were set at 280 and 460 yards with the hounds chasing a ball hare type system.

It opened up as an independent track with its first meeting being staged on the 30th of December 1932. It continued to host Greyhound Racing for almost 40 years before its closure came around 1970, with its foundations disappearing beneath a car park, and a cluster of houses known as Bradbury Glebe. It is very unlikely, although it is not yet clear that any remnants of the track remain.

A programme, photograph or even memorabilia for this track is required for this page, if you can help please contact me.