Whats on

Ayr Races

The home of the Coral Scottish Grand National and the totesport Ayr Gold Cup, Ayr racecourse is Scotland's only Grade one racecourse.

Although it is thought that racing has taken place at Ayr since the 16 th Century, the first official meeting recorded in the Racing Calendar took place in 1777.

The first two runnings of the Ayr Gold Cup were won by Chancellor, in 1804 and 1805. In 1907 the racecourse moved a short distance to its current location and took another significant step when introducing a jump racing course in 1950. In 1966 racegoers welcomed the first running of the Scottish National at Ayr, after the closure of the racecourse at Bogside.

Until recently, racing was organised at the course by The Western Meeting Club. In 2003, the racecourse changed hands and the new management has put together a £35 million pound redevelopment scheme which will transform Scotland's most prestigious racecourse into a venue that will truly rival the best racecourses in the world.

Situated on the west coast of Scotland, Ayr racecourse is close to the centre of the town of the same name, and only 6 miles from the hotel.

2007 Flat Fixtures:
Wednesday 23rd May
Thursday 31st May
Friday 22nd June
Saturday 23rd June
Sunday 8th July
Monday 16th July
Monday 23rd July
Saturday evening 11th August
Wednesday 29th August
Thursday 20th September
Friday 21st September
Saturday 22nd September (totesport Ayr Gold Cup Day)
Thursday 4th October
Friday 26th October
Saturday 3rd November

2007 Autumn Jump Fixtures:
Monday 26th November
Wednesday 5th December
Monday 17th December

Theatres

Theatre and cinema goers have lots of excellent opportunities for great nights out, not far from the hotel.

Ayr GaietyTheatre
Ayrshire's premium theatre for live music, shows, entertainment, pantomime, comedy, drama and children's entertainment. For the latest on whats on – look at www.gaietytheatre.co.uk

PalaceTheatre Kilmarnock
Welcome to the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall complex, Kilmarnock, which boasts a 503 seat theatre, a 900 seat concert hall, rehearsal rooms, exhibition rooms, art halls, a cafe-bar and reception meeting rooms.

So whether you want to catch a show, or hire one of the halls for conferences, community group meetings or sporting events - the Grand Hall and Palace Theatre is the perfect venue for you. For whats on, go to www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Borderline Theatre
Borderline Theatre Company is one of Scotland's longest established touring theatre companies, having been started in 1974. Borderline has a strong reputation for providing audiences all over Scotland with 'entertainment with substance' - take for example the recent successes of Passing Places by Stephen Greenhorn, Good Things by Liz Lochhead and Dead Funny by Terry Johnson.

Based in Ayr, Borderline's Lifelong Learning Programme has been running since 1988. Borderline runs over 1400 drama-based workshops per year in schools, the local community and throughout Scotland when we link workshops to our touring productions.

Odeon Cinema
Odeon Cinema is located in central Ayr and shows all the latest movies in a comfortable theatre with modern facilities. The Odeon Cinema Ayr is located inBurns Statue Square, opposite the train station at the top of the High Street, in the middle of the one-way system next to Blockbuster and Burns House.
www.odeon.co.uk