Plumpton Racecourse is a

National Hunt 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: ...

racecourse in the village of

Plumpton, East Sussex Plumpton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles (8 km) north-west of Lewes. The parish measures 6.5 miles in length on its north–south axis and 1 mile at its widest o ...

near

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. Racing first took place at Plumpton in 1884. Its most notable race is the Sussex National Handicap Chase

History

Plumpton Racecourse opened in 1884, however the very first events at the course took place in 1876 with Thomas Henry Case undertaking hare coursing. In 1961, Isidore Kerman bought the course and significantly improved the facilities, with the Southdown Stand opening in 1987 under his stewardship.

The Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

had her first winner at Plumpton with Super Fox in 1963. In 1998, the course was sold to Adrian Pratt and Peter Savill who continue to operate Plumpton Racecourse today. Plumpton Racecourse - geograph

Several notable charity races have taken place at Plumpton. In March 1980, HRH

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

finished second to television presenter, Derek Thompson, in the Mad Hatters private sweepstake. He rode favourite Long Wharf. In October 2001, television presenters

Alice Plunkett Alice Plunkett (also known by her married name, Alice Fox-Pitt) is a former eventer and National Hunt jockey and current presenter on ITV Racing in the UK. She is the only female to have ridden at both Badminton Horse Trials and over the Grand N ...

and

Alex Hammond Alex Hammond, also known as Alex Quinn, (born 1974) is a British television presenter, reporter working for Sky Sports Racing. Hammond was also a columnist for Sporting Life, while it operated. Media career Hammond started her broadcasti ...

finish 1st and 2nd in a charity race. In 2005,

Voy Por Ustedes Voy Por Ustedes (foaled 26 April 2001) is a French-bred chaser. Background Voy Por Ustedes is owned by Sir Robert Ogden and trained by Nicky Henderson. He was originally trained by Guillaume Macaire in France and was subsequently sold to the M ...

won the Coral Casino Handicap Chase on his way to winning the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

. On 9 February 2009

AP McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a reco ...

won his 3,000th race at Plumpton.

The course

Plumpton is a tight, undulating, left-handed course that features only National Hunt racing. There are 7 fences. Both the hurdle course and chase course feature the same, uphill run in to the winners post.

References

Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in East Sussex Sports venues completed in 1884

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 ...

{{England-horseracing-venue-stub