Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

, Surrey,

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, located in the outer suburbs of

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. It hosts 5 Grade One

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: ...

races and one

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flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. It regularly has horse racing during afternoons, evenings and on weekends, and also hosts many non racing events such as trade shows, wedding fairs, toy fairs, car shows and auctions, property shows, concerts, and even some private events. It was requisitioned by the

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from 1940-1945 for

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. The venue has hosted bands such as

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

, Madness,

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

and Simply Red. The racecourse is close to

Esher railway station Esher railway station is a station on the South West Main Line operated by South Western Railway in Surrey, England. The station adjoins the north of Esher with two footpaths skirting Sandown Park Racecourse, the town's commercial area being ...

served by trains from London Waterloo. There is a secondary exit from Esher station which is open on race days, this exit leads directly into the racecourse and Lower Green, Esher.

History

Sandown Park was one of the first courses to charge all for attending. It opened in 1875 and everyone had to pay at least half a crown. The first meeting was over three days, starting on Thursday 22 April, and included the Grand National Hunt Chase, now staged at the Cheltenham Festival. The Grand International Steeple Chase took place on the Saturday, worth £2,130 to the winner, and was the largest prize for a steeplechase that season, unusually even eclipsing that for the Liverpool Grand National.Stevens, Peter, History of the National Hunt Chase 1860-2010, pp 53-55. In 1875, Sandown became the first course in England to have a members' enclosure.

Notable races

References

External links

*
Course guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Elmbridge Sports venues in Surrey Horse racing venues in England 1875 establishments in England Sports venues completed in 1875