Bedford Racecourse was a former

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 pr ...

venue in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. In 1811, it held the first

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

over manufactured fences in front of a crowd of 40,000 spectators. A horse called Fugitive won, beating a horse called Cecilia over a three-mile course in which four 4ft 6in fences were each jumped twice. It was hosting two annual meetings by 1840.

References

Bibliography

* * Defunct horse racing venues in England Sport in Bedfordshire {{horseracing-venue-stub