The Hipódromo de la Castellana, also known as the Hipódromo de Madrid, was a sports facility dedicated to

horse 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 ...

. Located on the

Paseo de la Castellana Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is a major thoroughfare in Madrid, Spain. Cutting across the city from South to North, it has been described as the "true structuring axis" of the city. History and description The street ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, it was designed by engineer Francisco Boguerín as one of the first official horse racing tracks in the city. The Hipódromo was inaguruated to celebrate the wedding of King

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 188 ...

in 1878. In successive years, the venue also hosted

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches, mainly some

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

finals. With the widening of Paseo de la Castellana in the 1930s, the Hipódromo was closed and then demolished. The site, now occupied by the office buildings of

Nuevos Ministerios Nuevos Ministerios () is a government complex in central Madrid, Spain. The complex houses several government departments: Development, Labour, Social Security, and Ecological Transition. It is located in the block delimited by the Paseo de la ...

, was on the outskirts of Madrid at that time. During its years of operation it was the meeting place of the gentry and aristocracy of the time. The main horse racing venue for Madrid, since the mid-twentieth century, has been the Hippodrome de la Zarzuela.

Football

Since the founding of

Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn ...

(then known as Madrid FC) in 1902, the venue has been the home of the club. As a football venue, it was replaced by the

Campo de O'Donnell Campo de O'Donnell was a multi-use stadium in Madrid, Spain. The stadium should not be confused with Campo de O'Donnell (Atlético Madrid), which shared the same name and was situated away on the same boulevard. It was initially a field (campo) ...

in 1912. The Hipódromo was by no means perfect. In order for the game to be visible from both sides of a field normally used for horse racing, the playing area was ridiculously large, and to make it worse, horse manure had been used as

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, which in those times created a huge risk of

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

; the venue was thus likened to a death trap. During that period, the Hipódromo de Madrid hosted three finals of the

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

( 1903, 1906 and 1907), the latter two of which being won by Madrid as part of their four successive Copa del Rey titles between 1905 and 1908. Notably, the venue also hosted all the matches of the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, the predecessor of the Copa del Rey. Furthermore, the Hipódromo de Madrid was the very first venue of a

El Clásico El Clásico or el clásico (; ca, El Clàssic, ; ) is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every m ...

match, when Madrid faced

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

in the semi-finals of the Copa de la Coronación on 13 May 1902, which ended in a 3–1 to the Catalan team.

Notable events

Matches at the ''Estadio del Hipódromo'' included: * 1902 Copa de la Coronación Final (in honour of the coronation of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...

, not regarded as part of the

, the Spanish football cup competition) * 1903 Copa del Rey Final (the first final of the Copa del Rey) * 1906 Copa del Rey Final * 1907 Copa del Rey Final

Other uses

In some cases air shows were held.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estadio del Hipodromo Defunct horse racing venues in Spain Defunct football venues in Spain Sports venues demolished in 1933 Former sports venues in Madrid Defunct sports venues in Spain Alfonso XII of Spain Demolished buildings and structures in Madrid Sports venues completed in 1878