Lanark Racecourse

Lanark Racecourse

The old odds/results board at Lanark
Location	Lanark, Scotland
Coordinates	55°39′45″N 3°44′31″W / 55.6624°N 3.7420°W / 55.6624; -3.7420Coordinates: 55°39′45″N 3°44′31″W / 55.6624°N 3.7420°W / 55.6624; -3.7420
Date closed	October 1977
Course type	Flat
Notable races	Lanark Silver Bell

Lanark Racecourse (closed October 1977) was a Scottish horse racing venue, situated in the small town of Lanark in Scotland's Central Belt, 25 miles (40 km) from Glasgow. It was reputedly founded by King William the Lion of Scotland (1165-1214).

The course was a right-handed oval, 10 furlongs (2,000 m) round, with a run-in of around 3 ¹⁄₂ furlongs (700 m). It was home to Britain's oldest horse race, the Lanark Silver Bell, which after a gap of three decades following Lanark's closure, is now contested again at nearby Hamilton Park Racecourse. The original Silver Bell is commonly reported to have been a gift of William the Lion in the 12th century. While the original bell no longer exists, the present one dates from the 17th century. The course also staged the longest handicap in the racing calendar, the 2 ¹⁄₂-mile (4.0 km) William the Lion Handicap, which closed the Scottish flat racing season.

The first aviation meeting to be held in Scotland was held at Lanark Racecourse between 6 and 13 August 1910. This location was chosen because the land was relatively flat, the racecourse already had facilities for a paying public, there were stables to act as hangars for the aeroplanes and the racecourse was accessible by both road and by rail, especially as The Caledonian Railway Company were prepared to construct a new station near the main entrance. The aeroplanes were transported to the meeting by rail, as aviation technology at the time was not advanced enough to safely fly there. The Lanark meeting took place shortly after a similar event in Bournemouth at which Charles Rolls lost his life. Influenced by this, it was decided that no aircraft would fly closer than 300 yards (270 m) away from the spectators. For the first time, aeroplanes were accurately timed over a straight measured distance, allowing the first world records to be set, covering flights over one mile (1.6 km). The meeting was described by The Aero magazine as 'the most successful yet held in Britain'.