Category Archives: Racing News

Chester racecourse is a horseracing track  located in Chester, Cheshire, England. It is famously known as the Rodee. The racecourse is owned and managed by Chester Race Company Ltd. Racing there dates way back to the sixteenth century, making it one of the most ancient racing tracks in England. Despite its small size of approximately 1.8 km in length, Chester attracts a tremendous crowd of about 250,000 people in the 15-event season that runs from
May to September. The races held there are strictly flat races. It is seated on a 65-acre piece of land on the banks of River Dee, making it a beautiful venue to watch the races from.

It is said that the ancient Romans established Chester as an anchorage point where they could access the Irish Sea from. This made it a busy trading port, and was later left abandoned as a public land after silt had covered it. Years later, it became a home for the Goteddsday football match, which was banned in 1533 for its violent nature. Horse racing was then introduced in 1539, and the first race was recorded in February of the same year. Since then, races have been taking place every year at Chester racecourse. In 2008, a restaurant was opened up in the racecourse named “1539”. This marked the year in which the first race took place there.

The most notable races held in the racetrack are the Chester Cup and the Cheshire Oaks. The Chester Cup is a handicap race, and was first run in the year 1824. It is run over a distance of 3,746km, and is only open to horses aged four years and above. Cheshire Oaks on the other hand was inaugurated in 1950. It takes place every May, and is open to horses aged three years. The race is run over a distance of 2,281 meters.

The TrustATrader Festival Plate Handicap Chase was inugurated, as the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase, in 1951, in memory of Anthony Bingham Mildmay, Second Baron Mildmay of Flete, an influential amateur jockey who drowned off the Devon coast the previous May. The race has had numerous sponsors down the years, with the online trade directory taking over in 2024, and is nowadays a ‘Premier Handicap’, having been reclassified as such by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) in 2023.

The TrustATrader Festival Plate Handicap Chase is run over an extended two-and-a-half miles on the New Course at Cheltenham, where it is currently scheduled as the penultimate race on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival in March. Open to horses aged five years and upwards, worth £150,000 in total prize money and with a safety limit of 24, the race is a typical Festival handicap insofar as it is almost invariably fiercely competitive. That said, at the time of writing, four of the last 10 renewals have been won by the outright favourite, but the successful market leaders have been balanced by winners at 22/1, 20/1, 16/1 and 14/1 in the same period.

Nicky Henderson, who saddled The Tsarevich (1985, 1986) to back-to-back victories, plus Liberthine (2005) and Non So (2006) is jointly the leading trainer in the history of the TrustATrader Festival Plate Handicap Chase, alongside the later Bobby Renton and Martin Pipe, who retired from the training ranks in 2006. The late Fred Winter, who rode Slender (1951), Sy Oui (1953) and Caesar’s Helm (1958), remains the leading jockey. Notable winners in recent years include Road To Respect (2017) and The Storyteller (2018) , who went on the rack up five Grade 1 wins between them.

Salisbury racecourse is a flat horse racing venue located in Salisbury, Wiltshire. The race track hosts a total of 15 race meetings annually, beginning from the end of April all through to early October. It hosts almost all types of races, including handicaps. The racecourse is located only about 5km from Salisbury, making it a convenient horse racing venue. It has a great view of Salisbury Cathedral, and is engulfed with a peaceful and stunning atmosphere, thus a preferred horse racing venue for many racegoers in Britain when they’re not playing wolfwinner australia best online casino real money.

Racing in Salisbury racecourse is said to have begun in the mid-16th century, making it one of the oldest race tracks in Britain. Many famous racehorses gained their first victory in the racecourse. For example, Gimcrack won in Salisbury racecourse in the year 1768. At the age of 12, Jockey Lester Piggott ran its first race in public at the racecourse. In 1681, the Bibury Club was created, and became associated with racing in Salisbury about 218 years later after the racecourse relocated to Combe Down.

The racecourse is usually very busy in the weekends with a number of events taking place. It is open to anyone, and there is no specific dress code required for the race meetings. However, in the Bibury Enclosure, all people should dress smart, with men required to put on collared shirts. For every race meeting, advanced tickets are available for purchase starting from 7 Euros, depending on the enclosure that one chooses. The racecourse offers membership, with early subscriptions costing 190 Euros. As a member, one is entitled to attend a total of 49 meetings, as well as a parking space.

This year, Salisbury is set to host a good number of fixtures. On the 14th of July will be the Ladies’ Evening. It is the most anticipated race meeting, attracting a good number of people each year.

Wetherby racecourse is one of the few racecourses that host both National Hunt and Flat races in England. It is located in Wetherby town, West Yorkshire, only about 19km from the city center of Leeds. It was opened way back in 1891, and hosts a total of 20 fixtures each year, all spread between January and December. The racecourse is widely known to be the leading jump track in the whole country. Racegoers always flock Wetherby just to enjoy the thrill brought about by steeplechase. It staged its first flat race in 2015. Today, flat racing takes place every May and June.

Wetherby racecourse’s first venue was at Scaur Bank, which is widely known as George V playing fields today. In 1891, the racecourse moved to a new venue, off York road. This was after the rent of Scaur Bank grounds was raised, forcing the committee to look for an alternative venue. The first race meeting at its new venue took place on the 30th of March, 1891. It was served by the Wetherby railway station between 1920 and 1950, before closing down. A new grandstand was opened in 1906, but racing was put to a sudden halt in 1915 due to wars. In 1920, the Wetherby Race Company was formed, just after everything had come back to normal. The race company oversaw purchase of the course lease.

Towton Novices’ Chase and the Wetherby Mares Hurdle are the two most notable races held at Wetherby. The Towton Chase takes place every late January or early February,  and was inaugurated in 1996. It was named after Towton town, which is located to the south of Wetherby. The race requires horses to compete over a distance
of 4,869 miles, with the jumping of 19 fences. Wetherby Hurdle on the other hand covers a total distance of 3,219 meters. It is sponsored by OLBG.com, and takes place every October or November.