Richard Gauthier Collection

Ffos Las Racecourse

It was in 2002 that open mining land was purchased by the Walters Group, led by Dai Walters, with the express intention of creating a superb racecourse to serve the West of Wales. Five years later, in April 2007, Carmarthen County Council approved the planning application to construct the racecourse, and within a year Northern Racing Group was selected to manage the course. Ffos Las, located near the town of Trimsaran in the West of the Wales, became the third racecourse in the country when it held its inaugural meeting on Thursday 18th June 2009, (see scan of racecard below) with Jon Williams selected to manage the course. A crowd in excess of 10,000 witnessed the Evan Williams trained Plunkett win the opener at 15/8. Tuesday 21st July 2009 was the first Flat meeting staged at the new course. (see scan of racecard below) when the opener, the EBF/Jamie Yeates Memorial Maiden Stakes, went to the 10/11 favourite Our Dream Queen. The first official meeting was held on Friday 28th August 2009 when Sir Peter O'Sullevan opened the course. Within a year the management outlined plans to hold a 'Celtic Festival' in early March to take advantage of the Irish horses and punters arriving for the nearby Cheltenham Festival. The racecourse boasts an all-weather course with a running circumference of 12 furlongs. It enjoys the luxury of being able to host Flat and National Hunt meetings and has a grandstand capable of housing 1000 punters, fully seated. Currently it holds 21 fixtures annually.
Thursday 18th June 2009
Freebets.co.uk National Hunt Novices Hurdle
1. Plunkett (15/8), owned by Hywel Jones, trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Donal Fahy
2. Older and Wiser (9/1)
3. Ballyvesey (7/1)
The winner of the first Flat meeting on Tuesday 21st July 2009 was the 10/11 favourite Our Dream Queen, defeating Going French (10/1).