Racecourses

Hambelton is a village in North Yorkshire, North East England, approximately seven miles east of Thirsk and half a mile east of Sutton Bank, a.k.a. Roulston Scar, which is the highest point in the Hambleton Hills, with an elevation of approximately 1,000 feet. The earliest written of horse racing in the vicinity of Hambleton, or ‘Black Hambleton’, as it was sometimes known, dates back to 1612, which was a decade before the first authenticated took place at Newmarket.

Indeed, Hambleton was, in its heyday, arguably the best racecourse in the country and received royal patronage, from Queen Anne, until her death in 1714. The Queen Anne Cup – later retitled His Majesty’s Gold Cup, following the accession of King George I in 1714 – was contested by horses aged five years and upwards, at level weights, of 10 stone, over a four-mile circuit and was the principal race of the year at Hambledon Racecourse. Ultimately, though, the location of Hambleton Racecourse and its general inaccessibility proved its undoing; the final meeting took place during the summer of 1811. Thereafter, the course became, and still is, a training ground, nowadays utilised by local trainers Kevin Ryan and Bryan Smart.

To modern racing enthusiasts, the name ‘Hambleton’ is probably most familiar from the title of the Hambleton Cup Handicap, which is run over an extended mile and a half on ‘Ladies Day’ at Thirsk in September. Nowadays, the Hambleton Cup is a run-of-the-mill, 0-85 affair, but has been run at Thirsk since the course was established in 1855 and its history dates back to 1714 at Hambleton Racecourse, from whence it takes its name; it is, in fact, one of the oldest races in the country.

I haven’t been to lots of racecourses. In fact, I can probably count them on one hand. Huntindon, Kempton (when it was still turf), Leicester, Fakenham and Yarmouth.

At least one of those resides at the seaside.

Great Yarmouth –

Situated on the Norfolk coast, looking over the North Sea. A few wind turbines, miles of sand, much covered with marram grass, a couple of piers, plenty of pubs and umpteen ice cream stalls. If you want a decent days racing then not only do you have a fantastic venue but you’re at the seaside so you win twice. Great Yarmouth racecourse dates back to 1715. However, it moved to its present North Denes site in 1920. This left-handed course, with a mile straight, has a circuit of one mile five furlongs. It is used for Flat racing only. The most valuable race is the John Musker Fillies Stakes, a Listed race over one and a quarter miles which takes place in September. The three-day Eastern Festival is very popular, especially Ladies Day on the Thursday.

Thinking about it, how many racecourses sit on the coastline?

Here are a few more to take a closer look.

Bath –

Bath in Somerset. A city with a distinguished Roman history. This picturesque and elegant Flat racing course is the only location not to have its own watering system so ground conditions can be very firm when the sun shines. This left-handed oval track of just over one mile and four furlongs. It is the highest Flat racecourse in the country, some 238 metres above sea level. Racing dates back to 1728.

Brighton –

Enjoy the seaside atmosphere at Brighton. This course is known for its sharp bends and undulations. It originates back to 1783 and about one mile from the coastline. It hosts Flat racing from April – October. This left-handed course is unusual because it isn’t a full circuit, more of a horseshoe shape, one and half miles in length. It features an uphill finish. It has been attended by the great and the good including royalty.

Redcar –

I was surprised to learn Redcar was situated on the coast. Never travelled too far North (North Yorkshire) so that’s the reason for my lacking. In fact, back in the day, the horse races took part on the beach. However, the racecourse was built in 1872. This left-handed oval course just over one mile and four furlongs. Notable races include The Zetland Cup and Two Year Old Trophy.

Musselburgh –

Musselburgh is situated in East Lothian, Scotland. The second biggest racecourse in Scotland (behind Ayr). It used to be referred to Edinburgh Racecourse until 1996. The course features Flat and National Hunt racing. The racecourse dates back to 1816. It is close to the sea and also the Firth Of Forth, which is a large coastal inlet and opens into the North Sea.

Ireland features racecourses situated by the sea including Tramore, Wexford and Laytown, which sees races take part on the beach County Meath on the Irish Sea coast. A truly spectacular venue and distinctive racecourse.

Under Rule (F) 41.4 of the Rules of Racing, as maintained by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the minimum distance allowed for hurdle and steeplechase races is two miles. Traditionally, the distance of these races was rounded to the nearest half furlong, such that courses measuring 1 mile, 7 furlongs and 166 yards or more satisfied this requirement.

However, in 2015, the BHA, in conjunction with the Racecourse Association (RCA), introduced a new methodology for measuring National Hunt racecourses. Instead of measuring distances along the middle of each racecourse with a measuring wheel, the revised approach was to do so along a inner line, two yards inside the innermost position of the running rail.Naturally enough, following a tighter line meant that, in many cases, advertised race distances became shorter. Nowadays, all National Hunt race distances are described in both the traditional manner and to the exact yardage.

Professionally surveying racecourses to the nearest yardage provided greater accuracy for all concerned in the sport of National Hunt racing, but an inevitable consequence of the new methodology was that some courses that previously satisfied Rule (F) 41.4 thereafter failed to do so.The ‘2-mile’ hurdle course at Ascot, for example, was re-measured at 1 mile, 7 furlongs and 152 yards and it was a similar story for other courses, over hurdles and fences, throughout the country.

The BHA adopted a prgamatic approach, allowing Clerks of the Course, wherever possible, to move the start position of ‘errant’ races by way of complying with Rule (F) 41.4. Where this was not possible, though, rather than delete the races – which notably included the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase, run over 1 mile, 7 furlongs and 119 yards at Sandown – from the calendar, the governing body took the eminently sensible decision to grant special dispensation from the Rule.

Situated in the Royal County of Berkshire in South East England, adjoining Windsor Great Park, Ascot is arguably the most famous racecourse in Britain, if not the world. Since 2015, Ascot has been home to 13, or 36%, of the 36 Group 1 races in the British Flat racing calendar, eight of which are run during the celebrated, five-day ‘Royal Ascot’ meeting, staged annually in June.

The most recent additions to the Group 1 roster were the Commonwealth Cup, a six-furlong race for three-year-olds, which was added to the Royal Ascot programme in 2015, and the British Champions Sprint, which has been run, in various guises, since 1946, but was upgraded to the highest level in the same year. Thus, the British Champions Sprint became one of four Group 1 races run on ‘British Champions Day’, a one-day ‘championship’ meeting created, in 2011, as the culmination of the season-long British Champion Series, sponsored by Qatar Investment & Projects Development Holding Company (QIPCO).

The other Group 1 races run at the end-of-season, October fixture are the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes, over a mile and a half, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, over a mile, and the Champion Stakes, over a mile and a quarter. Worth £1.1 million and £1.3 million in total prize money, respectively, the last-named pair are, in fact, the most valuable mile race in Europe and the most valuable all-aged race in Britain.

Aside from the Commonwealth Cup, the remaining seven Group 1 races run at Royal Ascot are the Queen Anne Stakes, the King’s Stand Stakes, the St. James’s Palace Stakes, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the Gold Cup, the Coronation Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. Between Royal Ascot and British Champions Day, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, run over a mile and half in July, is another prestigious and valuable all-aged race, worth £1.2 million in prize money.