Author: GC

The Goodwood is located in English Cathedral city of Chichester, within the West Sussex County in the South East. The course is owned by Goodwood Estate, which is connected to the family of the Duke of Richmond.

 

History

The track as been active for around two centuries, with a stark fondness for the term ‘Sport of Kings’ in reference to horse racing. The Third Duke of Richmond brought the sport to the ground for the leisure of the Sussex Militia around 1901.

Course

Goodwood is a flat course type, with a unique straight stretch which serves as an advantageous section for horses with a good acceleration. The straight serves to measure the ability of horses purely on basis of speed. It also has a great right hand loop, where the skill of a jockey is put to real test. Onwards, there are uphill and downhill runs with several turns, all which work to make the track an exciting place to watch a combination of skills for both horses and riders.

From the Iron Age hill, patrons can be able to view the entire course, making the point a sort of grandstand. The only disadvantage is that the port point is subject to the foggy behaviour dictated by the ocean.

Goodwood also ropes in other experiences to blend with horseracing, with offers for shopping experiences, weddings, golf and great food available on their plate.

Races

Goodwood is a notable ground in the flat racing calendar, being the home of the Goodwood Cup, Nassau Stakes and the Sussex Stakes. July and August are thus the busiest race periods in this track.

William Buick, Ryan Moore and Jack Rowley are popular jockeys here; they could almost ride a horse here with blindfolds!

Horse owner Khalid Abdullah has had good races for his horses at the Goodwoods, where his horses have won six of 20 runs. Godolphin, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Hamdan Al Maktoum would also not complain about their luck at the ground.

Fontwell Park racecourse is nestled in the Sussex countryside. The racecourse has been hosting horse races since 1924 and is now owned by ARC Racing. In Fontwell, West Sussex, the oval hurdles course has always spurred a lively atmosphere in the village of Fontwell.

Beginings

The founder of the racecourse, Alfred Day, had come to train horses at The Hermitage. After acquiring enough land he opened the racecourse and named it Fontwell. Since the first meeting in May 1924, the racecourse has carved a reputation for itself as the Best Small Racecourse in the South East, a title it has held 12 years running. Fontwell Park is the course where Queen Elizabeth II, at the time still princess Elizabeth, won her first race as an owner in the Chichester Handicap Race in 1949.

History

Fontwell Park is also notable for hosting 5 of the 85 starts in which National Spirit went on to win. The most notable of his wins was the Rank Challenge Cup that he retained for 3 years consecutively. The hurdles race National Spirit has been hosted on Fontwell Park in his honour since 1965. The race has attracted many prominent names such as Comedy of Errors, Baracouda and most recently My Way de Solzen.

ARC Racing has made lots of improvements to the racecourse, including a new grandstand which shot up attendance numbers by 23%. The venue is also hosts other events when none of the 24 meetings in its calendar are on and has wonderful catering and enough space for all types of events.

Races

There are a number of notable races such as Easter Extravaganza Raceday, St. Patrick’s Raceday and Ladies Evening which is a day filled with glamour, horse racing, live music, and of course the ladies.

The racecourse has an Annual Badge that goes for £230 and gives you access to all fixtures. The badge allows you incentives that come with a Premier Enclosure ticket plus free parking.

Ffos Las racecourse is a dual-race type course owned by the Fos Las Ltd. It is located in Llaneli town within the county of Carmarthenshire, West Wales. Northern Racing is the company mandated to run the course, with races televised on At The races.

History

Ffos Las is absolutely new by the standards of racecourses, having only opened its doors in 2009. It came up as a sort of reclamation plan, taking the place Europe’s largest open cast coal mining after the colliery closed operations. It is surrounded by Carway and Trimsaran mining villages, with the culture of miners still evident in the area.

The first race run here was a national Hunt, with the event’s 10,000 tickets sold out. It was won by Plunkett, who started as second favorite. Plunkett was owned by Hywel Jones, trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Donal Fahy.

Flat racing first happened in July 2009-the Jamie Yeates Memorial Maiden Stakes. It was won by Dream Queen who was trained by Barry Hills and ridden by Michael Hallis.

The course

The name Ffos Las means ‘Blue Ditch.’ The course sits on a 600 acre property, and is used for both flat and national Hunt racing. The young age of the course means it had the advantage of taking many lessons from older courses as it was built, resulting in a hybrid facility that can be compared to the best surfaces across Europe. The track is 60 meters in width, well drained and level for pretty much its entire length.

Races

The course has hosted a varying number of races during its short span of existence as it continues to establish itself. It is still in the process of attracting big events and renowed horses, but is surely on its way there.

The 2017 calendar has 16 races scheduled. The Welsh champion Hurdle, a handicap grade jump race run over two miles, is arguably the Blue Ditch’s headline race.

Much of its racing is still in the planning stage, with a Celtic Festival intended for the period of St. David’s day. Equestrian events are also on the cards.