Haydock Park Racecourse is a

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

. Within the boundaries of the historic county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of

Haydock Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward. Haydo ...

to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield to the north,

Golborne Golborne (pronounced or ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Combined with the village of Lowto ...

to the east and Newton-le-Willows to the south. Horse racing had been run in Newton for many years (the great racemare Queen of Trumps won at Newton in 1836), and the venue was also used for

hare coursing Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent. In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and tur ...

in the 1880s. The current racecourse was opened in 1899. Much of the course's early development was overseen by Sydney Sandon, who served as course secretary, chairman and managing director in the early 20th century.

Facilities

The track is a mostly flat left-handed oval of around 1 mile 5

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 ...

s with a slight rise on the four and a half furlong run-in. An extension or "chute" to the straight allows sprints of up to six furlongs to be run on a straight course. There are courses for

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 ...

and

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

. The facilities include a champagne bar. It was awarded Racecourse of the Year in 1998 and 2000.

Notable races

References

Bibliography

External links

Official websiteCourse guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Liverpool B&S Horse racing venues in England Sport in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens Sports venues in Merseyside Tourist attractions in Merseyside Sports venues completed in 1899 1899 establishments in England