Busiest Racecourses In Uk
Wolverhampton Racecourse is a left-handed all-weather course and is the UK’s busiest racecourse with both afternoon and evening fixtures on the Flat all-weather track. Southwell Racecourse offers a unique blend of charm, excitement and comfort, making it one of the premier sporting venues in the East Midlands. With racing on both All-Weather and Turf tracks taking place throughout the year, we are one of the country's busiest racecourses.
Article Contents
History
The Sand
The Courses
Draw Biases
Horses and Sires
Trainers and Jockeys
In Britain there are five active all weather racecourses, one of which recently re-opened.
Lingfield is the oldest all weather course followed by Southwell. Wolverhampton turned to sand in 1993 and it was thirteen years later before the next all weather course at Kempton was built.
Great Leighs was the latest of the all weather racecourses to be built but financial difficulties led to the closure of the course in 2009. The course re-opened in 2015 under the new name Chelmsford City.
Lingfield Racecourse
Lingfield Park is known for being the first all weather course in the UK. This picturesque racecourse also hosts Flat Turf and National Hunt meetings making it one of the most busiest racecourses in Europe.
Established in 1890 the racecourse is steeped in history: it has a perfect blend of victorian architecture, contemporary buildings and picturesque gardens. Along with state of the art facilities and a championship golf course, Lingfield Park offers extensive hospitality facilities making it a superb and memorable day out for friends, family or work colleagues.
Until Kempton Park opened as an all weather track Lingfield was the course with the classiest all weather races. Lingfield hosts numerous group races throughout the year culminating in the two day Winter Derby festival at the end of the main all weather season in March.
Kempton Racecourse
Kempton Park all weather course opened in March 2006. The track was built using the latest generation of polytrack and provides racing all year round day or night.
The first all weather track in Britain to run right-handed the course also boasts a retractable floodlighting system - so when there is no racing under lights the columns go down and everybody can have a great view of the track during daytime meetings.
Kempton offers extensive catering facilities to suit all pockets. You can opt for relaxed dining in the Premier Suite or there is a huge variety of food outlets in the Paddock Enclosure, if food on the go is your thing. Corporate and group entertainment packages are also available for entertaining friends, family, clients or colleagues.
Southwell Racecourse
Southwell racecourse is one of the premier sporting venues in the East Midlands. Southwell provides race meetings all year round - mainly all weather racing but they also host flat turf and national hunt meetings. To add to your enjoyment there are also a variety of bars and restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets.
Entertain friends, relatives or business associates in style at Southwell Racecourse. The modern, private hospitality boxes are set within the Premier Enclosure and is ideal for hosting guests in a high profile environment with superb views of the entire course.
Southwell Golf Club is situated on course. The first nine holes being in the centre of the racecourse. Race and Play packages are available which include a round of golf and a days racing.
Strange But True
Kieren Fallon has a poor record at Southwell (9% strike rate). He once said he does not like the course because the Fibresand sticks to his hair.
Wolverhampton Racecourse
Wolverhampton Racecourse is Britain's first floodlit racecourse and one of the busiest hosting around 100 meetings a year.
Well known for its themed Saturday evening race meetings it offers a unique and thrilling atmosphere.
Best Racecourses In The Uk
There are various bars and food outlets to choose from in the Grandstand Enclosure. There are many restaurants too with the flagship being the 370 seater with panoramic views of the course Horizons restaurant.
Wolverhampton also prides itself on being an excellent Conference and Exhibition centre offering various suites and seminar rooms. Weddings are also well catered for with various packages and they also have a licence to perform civil weddings.
The course also has it own on site hotel - the Holiday Inn Garden Court. It has 54 rooms, a restaurant, fitness room and conference suites.
During it's history Wolverhampton has had three different types of all weather surface. Initially the course was made using Fibresand. In 2004 that was replaced with the more versatile Polytrack. In August 2014 (after strong criticisms of the Polytrack, which had deteriorated and was badly maintained) the surface was replaced with Tapeta - a new type of all weather of all weather surface that had not been used in Britain before.
Chelmsford City Racecourse
Opened in 2008 as Great Leighs (but now renamed as Chelmsford City racecourse) this was the first new racecourse to be built in Britain for over 80 years. Located in Essex to the north of London this racecourse has a great catchment area and is popular with Newmarket based trainers.
The two-storey grandstand will be the place to be in Essex, with bars and eateries open until late after racing, and with concerts planned. It will be operational on many other days for other events, such as live broadcasting of racing elsewhere, and of other major sports.
Newcastle
In May 2016 Newcastle joined the All Weather scene after ripping up the flat turf course and replacing it with Tapeta.
This course is unusual in that it has an 8f straight course. Previously the only all weather course with a straigth was the 5f course at Southwell so now there is a second, and there are also straight races of 6f, 7.5f and 8f.
Article created 01-Nov-08. Data analysed from Nov-98 to Nov-08. Stats may have changed since.Busiest Racecourses In Uk Newspapers
| Churchill Downs is an iconic American racecourse famous for hosting the prestigious Kentucky Derby annually. Named after John and Henry Churchill the track was officially opened in 1875 and held the first Derby in the same year.Located in Louisville, Kentucky, the track covers 147 (0.59 km2) and can accommodate up to 50,000 people. At the start of the 21st century it underwent a three-and-a-half year, $121 million redevelopment with 79 luxury suites being added, and the historic twin spires refurbished. |
| Belmont Park is one of the most famous US racetracks. Located in the outskirts of New York City, the horse-racing facility was opened in 1905, and is the host of Belmont Stakes, the last Triple Crown event. Belmont is also called “The Championship Track” because every famous horse since the early 20th century has graced the track with his presence including each of the eleven Triple Crown champions. The Belmont Park grandstand was opened in 1968 and remains the largest in Thoroughbred racing with the total attendance capacity more than 100,000. |
| Aintree Racecourse, opened in 1829 is the home of Grand National, one of the most challenging races in the world. The annual steeplechase event attracts enormous interest not only from racing enthusiasts, but also from people who don’t normally watch or |
| Ascot Racecourse is one of the busiest racecourses in Britain hosting 9 of the UK’s 32 annual Group 1 races. It stages 26 days of racing over the course of the year, and important jump racing during the winter period. The most prestigious race is King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes held in July. Ascot is always associated with royal family due to its proximity to the Windsor Castle. It was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne and underwent a massive renovation between 2004 and 2006. Royal Ascot attracts more than 300,000 people annually, thus being Europe’s best-attended race meeting. |
| Chester Racecourse is officially the oldest racecourse still in use in UK. It is also the smallest racecourse of importance in England at 1.8km long. The Chester racecourse traces its origins back to the sixteenth century. The racecourse site is known for a famous medieval football match. The game was so violent it prompted city authorities to ban and replace it in 1539 with horse racing. Chester hosts several notable races including Cheshire Oaks, Chester Cup and Huxley Stakes. Its position in the city makes racing meetings very popular as it is close to all the hotels, bars and restaurants. |