Category: Racecourses

Nowadays property of Folkestone & Hythe District Council and destined to become part of the sprawling ‘Otterpool Park’ housing development, Folkestone Racecourse still stands in Westenhanger, west of Folkestone town centre, as it has done since 1898. In its heyday, Folkestone was the only official horse racing venue in Kent and staged both Flat and National Hunt fixtures throughout the year.

However, following its ‘temporary’ closure in December, 2012 which, according to previous owners Arena Racing Company (ARC) was to allow redevelopment of ‘outdated’ facilities, Folkestone never opened its gates again. In fact, the previously magnificent site has essentially been left to slowly decay into rack and ruin.

The tumbledown buildings, including the wooden-fronted main stand, are still standing, albeit only just, but the steeplechase fences and running rails. The attractive parade ring and paddock area, behind the main stand, has at least been maintained to some extent, but the racing surface has been reclaimed by grass and tall, ugly weeds, reminiscent of a large, unkempt field than a racecourse.

Racing Post journalist Lee Mottershead once wrote, hauntily, of Folkestone, ‘They once raced horses here.’ They did, indeed, and the brutal demise of a landmark that stood for over a century is heart-breaking and shameful in equal measure.

The last British racecourse to close permanently was Towcester Racecourse, a National Hunt-only venue near the market town of Towcester in Northamptonshire in the East Midlands, which closed in October, 2019. In fact, it was first British racecourse to close since December, 2012, when Folkestone Racecourse ‘temporarily’ shut its gates, but has been left in a derelict state of neglect ever since.

Towcester Racecourse entered administration, with debts in excess of £1.3 million, in August, 2018 and was sold to Fermor Land LLP, a local company linked to Lord Hesketh, chairman of Towcester Racecourse Company, the following November. However, racing never resumed and, in October, 2019, the new owners announced that, after considering options for the future of Towcester Racecourse, the 93-year-old track was to close permanently.

With the assistance of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Fermor Land LLP sold the remaining ten National Hunt fixtures in its ownership, scheduled for 2020, to Arena Racing Company (ARC), with host venues to be confirmed at a later date. Richard Wayman, chief operating officer of the BHA, said at the time, ‘We had hoped, following the course going into administration, that the new owners might find a solution which allowed racing to resume, and it is disappointing that has not proved possible.’

Horse racing is popular in many jurisdictions, including Europe, North America, Australia and Asia, so any discussion of the ‘best’ racecourse in the world is bound to be highly subjective. However, what makes a premier racecourse essentially boils down to the configuration, construction and location of the course, available facilities and the type, frequency and quality of the racing staged.

For example, Ascot Racecourse, in Berkshire, South East England, has enjoyed a prestigious association with the British Royal Family for over 300 years. Ascot is best known for the five-day Royal Ascot meeting, staged annually in June, but hosts numerous premier events throughout the year. Between September, 2004 and June, 2006, Ascot underwent a £200 million redevelopment, including a new, 45,000-capacity grandstand building and a new parade ring, with the express intention of becoming the ‘finest racecourse in the world’.

Just a short hop across the English Channel, in the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris, Longchamp Racecourse is best known as the home of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run annually on the first Sunday in October. Nowadays the most valuable race in Europe, with €5,000,000 in total prize money, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe celebrated its centenary in 2021. The roll of honour includes Ribot, Sea Bird, Mill Reef, Dancing Brave and Sea The Stars, to name but a handful. Redeveloped, at a cost of €140 million, in 2016 and 2017 and rebranded ‘ParisLongchamp’, the most iconic racecourse in France nows features a striking 160-metre long grandstand, offering uninterrupted, 180º views across the racecourse. This is big money across the board, which of course in the world of gambling can be associated with anything from a win at the races or on slots at www.jokaroom.io  etc.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, in the Southeastern United States, is best known as the perennial home of the so-called ‘Run for the Roses’, the Kentucky Derby, which it has hosted annually, on the first Saturday in May, since 1875. Universally recognisable by its trademark twin spires, Churchill Downs is a National Historic Landmark but, in 2005, unveiled a 3½-year, $121 million facelift, which included a new, spacious clubhouse and luxury suites.

Elsewhere in the world, other candidates for the ‘best’ racecourse include Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, home of the Dubai World Cup, and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, home of the Melbourne Cup. Of course, there are many more, but ultimately the choice is a matter of personal preference.

The short answer is three. Chepstow Racecourse, home of the most valuable race run in Wales, the Coral Welsh National, is probably the best known of the trio. Situated in Monmouthshire, South East Wales, close to the border with England, the dual purpose course consists of a left-handed, undulating oval, 1 mile 7 furlongs around, plus a straight mile course, which joins the round course at the top of the home straight. The National Hunt course features 11 fairly stiff fences, or seven flights of hurdles, per circuit.

Not to be confused with Bangor, the cathedral city in Gwynedd, North West Wales, Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse is situated to the south-west of the village of the same name near Wrexham, North East Wales. Established in 1859, Bangor-on-Dee is a National Hunt course, consisting of a left-handed, flat circuit, 1 mile 4 furlongs in extent, with sharp bend and six hurdles, or nine fences, per circuit. The course has the distinction of being the only one in Britain without a grandstand; viewing takes place from a sloping grass bank, which surrounds the racing surface.

Ffos Las Racecourse, situated near the former mining village of Trimsaran in Carmathenshire, West Wales, was built on the site of what was, at one time, the largest open cast mine in Europe. The dual purpose course, which opened, to much fanfare, in 2009, is similar to Bangor-on-Dee insofar that it consists of a left-handed, flat oval, approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs around, but is essentially galloping in character, with wide, easy bends.