Nottingham Racecourse 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 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

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 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 b ...

. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

and about 3 km east of the city centre.

Characteristics

There are actually two courses at Nottingham, one inside the other. They are both approximately 1 1/2 miles round and are left-handed. The inner is used during spring and autumn, and has a 5 furlong straight, the outer is used during summer and has a 6 furlong straight. The course generally has easy turns and minor gradients, but the home turn is fairly sharp. Nottingham suits well-balanced horses rather than long-striding ones.

History

Nottingham Racecourse from the south-east - geograph

The

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 ...

was in operation ''ante'' 1773 at Nottingham Forest Recreation Ground when it was one of the earliest racecourses to be granted a Royal Plate race by the monarch. It was run in 4 mile heats by 6 year olds carrying 12 stone. The course moved to its present site in Colwick Park in 1892. In 1965 the local corporation bought the 293-acre site for £500,000, and for a short time the future of the course looked in doubt. However, the Levy Board funded improvements to the site, and the corporation agreed to lease the course to the Racecourse Holdings Trust (predecessor of

Jockey Club Racecourses The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

) for a nominal sum. It staged both forms of racing until February 1996, after which it abandoned

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: ...

to become a flat-only course. The racecourse was served by its own station up until the late 1960s, when the line was shut down. There are still remnants of the station wall on what is now Colwick loop road. The course hosts two early-season

Listed races Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l' ...

– the Kilvington Stakes for fillies over 6

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 hor ...

s and the Further Flight Stakes over 1 mile 6 furlongs, named after the horse of that name. It also hosts the listed Nottinghamshire Oaks over 1 mile 2 furlongs in the early Summer for fillies and mares. In total, it hosted 23 race meetings in 2017, at an average of £50,467 prize money per meeting. Mr John Barnett was the courses longest serving employee; for over 25 years Mr Barnett served the course as a groundsman. On 9 June 2013, Mr Barnett's 65th birthday, he enjoyed his final raceday as a full-time employee of the racecourse, which was celebrated with a race named in his honour "Happy Retirement John Barnett handicap". The 8f race consisted of 14 runners and the winner Woody Bay trained by James Given and ridden by Graham Lee finished the race in 1m 46.78s.

Memorable events

In April 2013, there was a triple dead-heat in a race at Nottingham, only the second time it had happened for over a decade. Horses Thorpe Bay, Majestic Manannan and My Time tied for fourth place in the Lodge Farm Stud Chris And May Mullin Handicap over 5 furlongs.

Facts and figures

*Number of fixtures (2016) – 23 *Prize money (2016) – £1,160,750 *Top trainer (2007 – 2011 inc.) –

Saeed Bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing trainer in Great Britain. He took out his training licence in 1993 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation. He has been ...

, 24 from 56 runs

Notable races

References

Bibliography

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External links

Nottingham Racecourse (Official website)Course guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Horse racing in Great Britain Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Nottingham Sports venues completed in 1892 1892 establishments in England