Category: Racecourses

Newcastle is a dual-race type course located in Gosforth Park within the City of Newcastle, North East England. It is owned by the Arena Racing Company, with races televised on At The Races.

History

Horse racing in the area has been existent for roughly three-and-a-half centuries, with King George II among the premieres to show interest in and support competitions. After periods of shifting, races finally found a home at the current location in 1882, when the Northumberland plate was first run here. The new course had some amazing facilities by the standards of that time, with flat and chase tracks, a grandstand and 100 horse stables.

More recent history was made at the turn of the 21st Century, when the ascendancy of David Williamson, a Scottish businessman, to the post of managing director saw the turnover rise steadily from £2.5m to £2.5m in six years.

A new upgrade between 2013 and 2016 saw the introduction of an all-weather flat racing track which was first used in May 2016.

The course

The course assumes a figure 9 shape, with two sharp turnings and one other which is much gentler. There are tracks for both National Hunt and flat racing. It sits on 805 acres of land, on which the Golf Clubs of Northumberland and Parklands, a scout camp and a nature reserve have been developed.

Newcastle airport is six miles away for huge plane landing. Helicopter landing can be arranged in advance with the course management.

 

Races

Newcastle hosts 30 race meetings in its annual calendar. Racing begins in spring and runs all through to December. The most notable race run here is the Northumberland Plate run in June. There are day and night events hosted at Newcastle. The Eider Chase, Fighting Fifth Hurdle and Chipchase Stakes are also key events on the course’s list of fixtures.

The BeeswingStakes and the Seaton Delaval Stakes were traditional races held here but were discontinued in 1999 and 1985 respectively.

Newbury Racecourse is a dual-race type track located in Greenham, next to the town of Newbury in the county of Berkshire, England. It is a high-quality-facility course owned by Newbury Racecourse Company whose races are televised on Racing UK.

History

Racing activities in Newbury were active since the early 19th Century, when 1805 race Newbury Races was recorded at Enborne Heath.

The current course staged its first race in September 1905. Copper King was the winner of the inaugural Whatcombe Handicap.

The jump races came soon after, in 1906, when the course hosted nine days of flat and jump racing.

Building the course was the proposal of trainer John Porter, which was rejected several times by the Jockey Club until a chance meeting gave him the opportunity to seek King Edward VII’s support for the approval. The Jockey Club did approve the plan when the King asked, and at that time the Newbury Racecourses was born.

Porter’s Zelis won the Regulation Plate in September 1905, and the visionary trainer announced his retirement immediately after. Racing took a break during the War when the facility was used to hold prisoners of war from the German faction.

A 2011 occurrence that led to the sudden death of two horses at the course painted it in a bad light. Postmorterm analysis pointed to electrocution that caused heart attacks.

The course

The course is oval with and undulating landscape and some tough bends which call for a combination of skill and power to manoeuvre.

There is a train station located within the racecourse, making rail the most convenient way to access the several times Most Prestigious Racecourse.

Races

Up to 32 races are held at Newburyeach year, with the purse total often coming to in excess of £2,000,000. The Greatwood Gold Cup, the Winter Bumper, Betfair Hurdle and the Hennesy Gold Cup are some of the headline races within the jumps. The Greenham Stakes, John Porter Stakes, Harkwood Stakes, Arc Trial and the World Trophy stand out in the flat category.

Musselburgh racecourse is located in the East Lothian council area of Scotland, six miles from the capital Edinburgh. It is a dual-race type track widely acclaimed for its stylish nature, and has races televised on Racing UK. It sits on Common good land, and is run by the Musselburgh Joint Racing Committee (MJRC), a partnership between the East Lothian Council and the Lothians Racing Syndicate.

History

Racing began in 1777 at the Musselburgh, and continued until 1789 when most competitions were moved to Leith. The races made a permanent return to Musselburgh in 1816.

It was under the Lothians Racing Syndicate for the years after World War II, but was adversely affected by betting legislation and continued posting losses late into the 1980s. The local council took over its running in 1991, and brought it back to profit making within a year before establishing a new partnership with the syndicate.

The course underwent a £7.5 million upgrade in 1995, improving both viewing areas and the racing track.

The course

The course is pretty flat, with tracks for both flat and national hunt competitions. It has gentle turns in the starting sections and much more challenging bends towards the end. There are 12 obstacles in the jump circuit.

Within it lies a nine-hole golf course. The course is notable for elegance, be it in service, signposting or equipment design.

Musselburgh is accessible through a road bridge over the Esk, but this is only open on race days.

It has held the honour of 5-star Visitor attraction from Scotland’s national tourism organisation visit Scotland since 2006. In 2011, Musselburgh beat Ascot to win the Dual Purpose Award in the Neil Wyatt Racecourse Groundstaff Awards.

Races

The William Hill Scottish Sprint Cup and the Royal Mile Handicap are the two most notable races run within the track. The Edinburgh Cup, Caledonian Cup Raceday, Stobo Castle Ladies and Easter Saturday are also part on Musselburgh’s calendar, which totals roughly 28 fixtures within the year.