By Enda McElhinney
Wexford Racecourse is situated in Ireland's south-east corner and has played host to racingsince 1951.
The track is located at Bettyville and it is believed that some 17,000 spectators were present at the inaugural race meeting in October 1951.
In modern times, Wexford has undergone several major changes and upgrades. The course now hosts approximately 11 fixtures per year over jumps.
An undulating, left-handed, rectangular track of under nine furlongs in extent. The two-furlong home straight is slightly uphill but this is very much a sharp track with tight turns which favours the speedy, handy type, particularly on the hurdles course.
There are six fences to a circuit of the chase course with only one in the finishing straight.
With a lot of undulations on the track, conditions can vary in different parts of the course in extreme weather. Course upgrades made a difference
In the 1990s and onwards, the Wexford Racecourse Supporters? Club assisted in raising the funds needed to perform upgrades.
The first task was to improve the condition of the track. The surface was levelled anddrained, the sharp bend into the straight was eased, two furlongs were added on the westernside and cambering on the bends made racing safer.
This resulted in positive change for Wexford Races, with widespread approval from withinthe industry.
In 2015, the track went through the biggest change in its history, with the direction that the runners raced around the track being changed from right-handed to left-handed, resulting in the rather unique setup of the winning post being moved just beyond the spectator stands.
The racecourse has been developed in stages and is now one of the finest tracks of its kind in Ireland with the constant support of leading trainers in pursuit of competitive racing programmes during the summer months.
