Great Yarmouth racecourse is a horse racing course located a mile north of Great Yarmouth, owned by

Arena Racing Company Arena Racing Company, also called ARC Racing and Leisure Group is a UK private company, created in 2012 by the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing. It owns and operates 16 racecourses in Great Britain, accounting for 39% of British rac ...

. The track takes the form of a narrow oblong of a mile and five furlongs round, with two long straights about five

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 hor ...

s in length. It is a left-handed course, used for flat racing only. An extension to the finishing straight allows races of up to a mile to be run on the straight course.

History

Racing at Great Yarmouth was first recorded in 1715, when a lease was granted by the Great Yarmouth Corporation to a group of innkeepers for some land where they could stage race meetings. Racing may well have been taking place there before that date. It was probably intermittent during the eighteenth century, and will often have coincided with the annual town fair. Diverse events such as donkey races and chasing a pig with a soaped tail were held. Not until 1810 did the official Racing Calendar begin to record meetings with thoroughbred races and sufficient prize money. This course, on the South Denes, then became established. A two-day meeting was held in the late summer each year. Not until 1866 did the number of fixtures start to increase. Racing resumed after suspension during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but in 1920 the course was moved to the adjacent North Denes, in the face of pressure from the local fishing industry to expand its premises onto land on the South Denes. Two grandstands were dismantled and relocated to the North Denes, where they are still in use today. The local authority had taken over ownership of the course in 1904, and for most of the twentieth century the racecourse benefited local people, not only by providing entertainment but also because its profits helped to keep their rates down. Since 2001 they have been the minority shareholder in a new company set up to run the course. The racecourse was owned by a private company,

Northern Racing Northern Racing was a private company that owned ten horse racing courses and one golf course in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1998 by Sir Stanley Clarke CBE, and after being listed on the Alternative Investment Market, was owned private ...

, which was the majority shareholder. During that time they were able to finance improvements that the Council could not, including the construction of an additional grandstand. The course merged in 2012 with

Notable races

The most valuable race is the John Musker Fillies' Stakes, run over a mile and a quarter in September. The proximity of the course to Newmarket means any of the races for two-year-olds can be particularly instructive, as some of these young horses go on to compete in and win valuable races. In 1998

Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...

won his debut at Great Yarmouth impressively, ridden by

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

, before becoming one of the best horses to run for the worldwide Godolphin operation, owned by the

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

royal family. Since then Great Yarmouth winners included

Ouija Board The ouija ( , ), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and grap ...

, who went on to win the English and Irish Oaks before scoring at the

Breeders Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

, the annual international horse racing championships in the USA. Wilko,

Raven's Pass Raven's Pass (foaled February 17, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse most notable for being the first English-trained winner of the Grade I Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Califo ...

and Donativum were others that won at Great Yarmouth en route to future Breeders Cup glory.Tubby, David. 2011. A History of Great Yarmouth Racecourse ()

References

External links

Great Yarmouth Racecourse(Official website)Course guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Authority control Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Norfolk Great Yarmouth Sports venues completed in 1715 1715 establishments in England