Catterick Racecourse, sometimes known as Catterick Bridge Racecourse, is a

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

venue one mile north west of Catterick in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England, near the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Catterick Bridge Catterick Bridge is both a bridge across the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England, about 1 mile north of Catterick, and a hamlet at the south end of the bridge. The bridge The bridge carries the A6136 road (once the Great North Road). ...

. The first racing at Catterick was held in 1783. The track is left-handed, sharp and undulating, just over a mile round, with a 3

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

run-in. The gravel subsoil means the going is usually good. It has been said that "it is not one of the North's most glamorous fixtures". The Catterick Sunday Market, held on the racecourse grounds, is the largest Sunday Market in the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. The international

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

champion

Collier Hill Collier Hill (foaled 26 March 1998) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by the prominent American sportsman George W. Strawbridge, Jr. who was involved in both steeplechase and flat racing and who raced in Europe and the United State ...

won his first race here in March 2002. The feature event at the course is the North Yorkshire Grand National held in January. There are plans to create an All Weather track and change the layout of the National Hunt course.

History

Horse racing and Yorkshire have long been bedfellows. Catterick hosted events in the mid-17th century in an unofficial capacity, with the first sanctioned meet taking place in 1783. A permanent track was laid down in 1813, and the course has been a mainstay of the Yorkshire racing scene since. Interest in the venue steadily grew in the early 20th Century, and by the early 1920s it was a staple of the area. This led to the formation of the Catterick Racecourse Company, who still manage the venue to this day. Improvements continue to be made at Catterick, and while the events it hosts lack the prestige of some competing venues, it has made a contribution to racing history. Perhaps the most notable is the emergence of

, a horse that went on to win the

Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles or 12 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

and

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation i ...

– all after first making his mark with victory at Catterick.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Catterick Bridge Racecourse (Official website)

Website of the Catterick Sunday Market
Horse racing venues in England Horse racing venues in Yorkshire Sports venues in North Yorkshire Sports venues completed in 1783 Catterick, North Yorkshire {{England-horseracing-venue-stub