Earliest meeting: Wednesday 15th May 1867
Final meeting: Thursday 17th April 1958
The Irish racecourse at the village of Louth, which stands on the River Dee in County Louth, was also called Ardee Racecourse and Mullacurry at various times in its history. The inaugural meeting of the ‘Louth and Ardee’ racecourse was a 2 day meeting starting on Wednesday 15th May 1867.  A full programme was offered on Thursday 29th April 1869 when the feature race, the annual Louth Hunt Cup, saw Mr Tiernan’s Woodbine get the better of Surprise and Porto Rico. Racing continued to be held annually for just the next 3 years. However, it was noticeable that the crowd size was down in 1872, causing the meeting to cease for a while. The Louth Hunt decided to revive the meeting in 1881, and by 1886 attendance at the track was boosted when punters were able to arrive by trains from Dunleer Station. The race meeting came to an end after the Second World War, with the final meeting taking place on Thursday 17th April 1958, as competition from other racing venues was too strong.

Thursday 29th April 1869
Louth Hunt Cup over 2 ½ miles
1. Woodbine, grey mare owned by Mr Tiernan
2. Surprise, chestnut gelding owned by Mr A J McNeill
3. Porto Rico, bay gelding owned by the Honourable E. Preston
Betting: Evens Woodbine, 5/2 Surprise, 4/1 Bar

Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-

London Illustrated News

Racing Illustrated 1895-1899

The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated

Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough

The Sporting Magazine

A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8

Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses