AYR Racecourse has scooped VisitScotland’s top Quality Assurance accolade.


The national tourism organisation has presented the Racecourse, which last year welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to racing fixtures and hospitality events, with a Five Star Visitor Attraction Award in recognition of its outstanding standards.


The Racecourse won the coveted top grading following an incognito visit by one of VisitScotland’s Quality and Tourism Advisors.


The complex was judged on the standards of its visitor information, signage and car parking, exterior and interior presentation and cleanliness, to the hospitality and friendliness of staff, and quality of the catering. 


The scores each achieved in the visit report secured the attraction an ‘exceptional category’ grading.


The Racecourse, which has been at its current site since 1907, not only hosts Scotland’s two biggest race Festivals but also all of Scotland’s top races, both in jumps and flat. 


The Racecourse is also renowned for providing some of the finest hospitality at any sporting venue in the UK, as well as staging events and functions, including most recently the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce dinner with Donald Trump as guest.


David Brown, Managing Director of Ayr Racecourse, said: “This is an accolade which we’ve been hoping to win for some time and it’s a real testimony to the commitment and hard work of all of our staff to not only deliver, but consistently maintain, the very highest standards.”


VisitScotland's Regional Director, Annique Armstrong, said: “My congratulations go to David and the whole team at Ayr Racecourse on this fantastic and very well-deserved achievement. It’s great news, not only for the attraction but also for Ayrshire & Arran. 


“Having another Five Star Visitor Attraction further strengthens the region’s tourism offering and increases its marketability as an outstanding destination which offers a huge and diverse range of superb things to see and do."