Southwell Racecourse (pronounced /ˈsʌðəl/ or /ˈsaʊθwɛl/) 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 ...

venue located east of Southwell in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, England. It is one of only six racecourses in the UK to have an

all-weather track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

and is one of two courses in the UK with a Tapeta surface. Southwell previously used a track surface of Fibresand, a mixture of sand and wispy fibres before changing to Tapeta (a mixture of sand, wax and fibre) in 2021. National Hunt racing on a turf course also takes place at Southwell. In 2007, the

Great Yorkshire Chase The Great Yorkshire Chase is a Listed National Hunt racing, National Hunt Handicap (horse racing), handicap Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. ...

(now Skybet Chase) was held at Southwell, while Doncaster Racecourse was closed for redevelopment. Southwell racecourse will always be associated with female jockey

Hayley Turner Hayley Turner (born 3 January 1983) is an English jockey who competes in flat racing. Originally from Nottingham, she is based in Newmarket. In 2008 Turner became the first woman to ride 100 UK flat race winners during a calendar year. She ...

, who grew up locally and had her first job in racing with a trainer based adjacent to the track. The racecourse was forced to close temporarily in December 2012 when flooding caused major damage to both the track and the buildings on site. Meetings scheduled for the all-weather flat course were transferred to Wolverhampton and Lingfield. The course successfully re-opened on 5 February 2013 with a seven-race flat meeting. Initial meetings following the re-opening had a limited capacity while renovations continued.

Drone controversy

In January 2019, that 'betting' drones have become a nuisance at Southwell Racecourse. Drones have been flying over the racecourse and broadcasting live footage over the internet.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

pointed out that drone footage can be two seconds ahead of broadcasters, which gives punters a financial edge while "live betting." Greg Wood, a racing expert at the Guardian, said that racetracks are profiting from the time lag by selling tickets for boxes that have dedicated internet feeds. These feeds allow punters to use the fast connection to place bets. It was reported that drones had made an appearance "at every single meeting

t Southwell T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

for the last six months."

References

External links

Southwell Racecourse (Official website)Course guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Nottinghamshire Southwell, Nottinghamshire {{England-horseracing-venue-stub