There have been some outstanding Scottish-bred horses over the years. A few examples include Two Thousand Guineas winner Macgregor and Derby winner Thormanby.
In recent years, one stable has produced over 1000 winners and could now be yours as it goes up for sale. We discuss the legendary Scottish stables available to purchase in the article below.
Stables in South Lanarkshire
Now empty, Belstane Racing Stables are situated in Carluke, South Lanarkshire. Extending for just under 19 acres, the property also includes Belstane Farmhouse. However, for those who want to get into the business of opening winning stables, it also comes with a range of items ready to get you started: Staff accommodation for over 100 horses, indoor and outdoor riding arenas and gallops, two motorised horse exercisers and offices. All for the princely sum of £750,000.
The Former Home of Keith Dalgleish
The stables are well known to have been the home of trainer Keith Dalgleish. He took over Belstane in 2011 and in his first year had 39 winners. In every season since then, he has been averaging around 50 winners a season with a whopping 86 in 2017. Some of his most famous horses and their wins were Summer Daydream. In 2018 the horse managed to win the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar. Another of these was Clem Fandango. It placed in the Group Two Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2016 and then won the Listed Harry Rosebery Stakes at Ayr.
In 2023 Dalgleish sent shockwaves across the racing world by announcing his retirement, still in his prime as a trainer. He said this was to spend more time with his family and that he wanted to do other things for a while. This alarmed many who were concerned about the declining number of British trainers in horse racing.
The face of racehorse ownership and training has changed dramatically in the last five years, with new ways for fans to invest and modern revenue streams available for stable owners and trainers. One popular method is through online syndicacy, which allows people to purchase shares in a racehorse for a relatively low entry point. Websites and applications let shareholders track the horse’s progress and they even get a share of the winning if a horse romps home. Whoever takes over the stables must consider this modern approach to survive with so much competition from France and Ireland.
Famous Scottish Racehorses
Only two Scottish-trained horses have won the fabled Grand National: Rubstic and One For Arthur. The latter was the most recent in 2017. Owned by Belinda McClung and Deborah Thomson, he was fifth favourite at 14/1. Taking the lead at the final two fences, he came out to beat Cause of Causes.
Despite only a few winners at the Grand National, horses born, bred and trained in the country are aplenty. The most recent of these has to be Corach Rambler. In 2023 the horse managed to land a second successive win in the Ultima Handicap Chase. Another Scottish horse that always did well was the Alan King-trained Voy Por Ustedes, which recorded over 16 wins at Cheltenham in some of its most famous races.
Horse training is an intense job that requires a lot of skill and capital. However, if you are thinking of setting up shop in Scotland there is probably no better place to start than a stable once owned by the cream of the crop when it comes to Scottish horse racing.
Published: by Radio NewsHub
