Beverley racecourse is located in the market town of Beverley, within the county of East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is a flat-type racecourse owned by the Beverly Race Company Ltd, with races at the course televised on Racing Uk.
History
There was racing in Beverley as early as the first half of the 18th Century, but the first time an annual meeting was held there was in 1767. During this inaugural year, a £1,000 grandstand was commissioned. Annual events continued until 1798, when they were stopped for a period of seven years. The course’s popularity grew a lot in the two decades following the 1805 resumption; it is then that the renowned horse ‘Altisidora’ ran the track.
A new grandstand worth £90,000 came into use in 1968.
The Course
Beverly is a right handed flat-racing course, slightly more than 1-mile 3-furlongs in length. Most sections of the track are flat, except for the finish area which has an uphill gradient. The course is also known for its tight turns that require riders to reign the horses with skill. Part of these bends cause Beverly to be the course with the greatest ‘draw bias’ across the UK.
The course has a ‘The horse comes first’ policy, a campaign which aims to dispel untruths about cruelty to racehorses. Access can be gained by bus from the train station a mile away; dogs are not allowed. The dress code is smart casual.
Races
Beverly hosts 19 race meetings in a calendar year. The Hilary Needler trophy and the Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, both listed, are the headline races at the course. The Brian Yeardley is also run here. In 2014, the Hilary Needler was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch.
Tim Easterby-trained horses have always had a good running at Beverley, forming the largest number of race winners from the same training stable, which is an incredible stat by any standards.