Lanark

Lanark Racecourse was one of the oldest and most characterful racing venues in Britain, tucked into the Clyde Valley on the edge of the town. Racing there stretched back to the seventeenth century, and for a long time Lanark held a special place in the Scottish calendar because of the Lanark Silver Bell, a race linked by tradition to the reign of William the Lion in the 1100s. Whether the bell truly dates from that era is debated, but the association gave the meeting a sense of antiquity that few courses could match.

The track itself was a left‑handed, roughly oval circuit of about a mile and a half, fairly flat and open, with long straights that suited horses who could maintain a rhythm rather than rely on a sharp turn of foot. It staged Flat racing only in its later decades, and by the mid‑twentieth century it had become a modest but well‑loved venue, drawing local crowds and trainers from the central belt. The Silver Bell remained its centrepiece, run over a mile and a half and carrying the weight of centuries of folklore.

Lanark's decline came in the early 1970s when the Levy Board began withdrawing support from smaller Scottish tracks. The final meeting was held in October 1977, after which the course closed permanently. The Silver Bell was revived at Hamilton Park in 2008, keeping the name alive even though the race now belongs to a different setting.

Today the old racecourse land is still recognisable in outline. Parts of the track survive as open grassland and footpaths, and the shape of the home straight can still be traced from aerial views. It's a quiet and melancholy landscape now, but the sense of deep history that always clung to Lanark hasn't entirely faded.

Winners at Lanark (15)