Category: Racecourses

Hamilton Park racecourse is located in the town of Hamilton, within South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is nine miles south of Glasgow City. It is owned and run by the Hamilton Park Trust, with races screening on Racing UK.

History

Horseracing in the town has been alive since 1782, so much that it is part of the Scottish culture. The current course was however not in existence before 1926, when the first race was run here.

The course has been known to be a place of firsts in many aspects of racing within the UK. In 1947, it hosted the first ever evening meeting, a trend that soon caught on within racing circles. Not one to stick to normalcy, Hamilton then went ahead to host the first morning meeting in 1971.

Hamilton faced the danger of closure going into the 1970s due to financial constraints, but was then taken over by The Trust in 1973 with a focus on improving its appearance and performance.

The course

Hamilton is a flat races track. It has a gentle gradient, with a lengthy run in of five furlongs that goes uphill at the finish.

The course is famed for its exquisite facilities, which are in constant upgrade thanks to the Trust’s policy of pumping all profits into the redevelopment of the venue. And these profits are not small amounts of money, at one time going up to £2.5 million. There is an ongoing upgrade plan in 2017 estimated to cost £ 800, 000 mostly to tweak the catering and restaurant facilities to suit the social race goer.

Access to the course is possible by road rail or air. It is well signposted on the surrounding roads. Hamilton West Train Station is only fifteen minutes’ walk from the course. Glasgow airport lies 21 miles away.

Races

Races are run here between the months of May and October. The Glasgow Stakes, run over 1-mile six-furlongs 16 yards is the venue’s headline race. Other races include the Lanark Silver Bell and the Scottish Stewards’ cup. The Braveheart Stakes was run here but got discontinued in 2015.

 

The Great Yarmouth Racecourse, within the Norfolk County coastal town by the same name, is a flat racing track owned by Arena Racing. It is a track with unique forms that make it ideal to spot and develop particular strength in racing horses.

The Course

Great Yarmouth is left handed, forming out as a narrow oblong, with two long-stretch straight sections that allow horses to accelerate to top speeds. This helps in setting the competitors apart within the narrow track, and also gives a double chance for horses short-changed within the race to make up with an unhindered straight run.

The Premier and Grandstand & Paddock enclosures offer great entry points for patrons, as they give easy access to viewing areas and also public areas like bars, food courts, children play areas and the parade ring. Children accompanied by an adult gain free entrance. These entrances go directly from the free parking area, making it easy to roll in and out even with bulky items.

History

Great Yarmouth has been in the horseracing circles for a little over three centuries, since the Yarmouth Coorporation first leased the area to a group of horseracing innkeepers in 1715. The course remained a public area for many years, until 2001 when Northern Racing acquired majority ownership, later merging with Arena Racing in 2012.

Races

There is no major race that calls this coastal course home, but events do come by regularly. Most notable is the mile-and-a-quarter long John Musker Fillies’ Stakes that happens in September. The races are marked by a lot of non-race social activity, which the course of operators have inducted to boost its popularity. Dubai Millenium, who debuted here in 1998, is arguably the greatest horse to have raced here in recent times.

There are wedding events here often. Flash photography and recordings of either personal or commercial use are not allowed in the racing areas.

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.