 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(October 2021) |
 | |
| Location | Fakenham, Norfolk |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Fakenham Racecourse Ltd. |
| Screened on | Racing TV |
| Course type | National Hunt |
| Official website | |
Fakenham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located south of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. King Charles III is patron.
The course is left-handed, almost square in shape, with a circumference of about a mile. The steeplechase course is situated to the outside of the hurdle course and consists of six fences per circuit, with the open ditch as the penultimate obstacle.
It is also the venue for the West Norfolk Hunt's Point to Point.
Racing first took place at Fakenham on Easter Monday after the West Norfolk Hunt took a committee decision to transfer their race meeting from East Winch, near King's Lynn. The West Norfolk Hunt had run meeting since 1884 at East Winch but because of concerns over continual heavy going at the course, a more suitable, lighter soil site was identified at Fakenham.
This first meeting in 1905 attracted 37 runners and considering the travelling difficulties in those days, confirmed the excellent local support for the transfer to Fakenham. Just the one meeting per year was held on Easter Monday with racing continuing every year except for enforced breaks during the world wars and the more recent pandemic. In 1926, there was the introduction of a hurdle race as the steeplechase races had dwindled in numbers. The three mile steeplechase in those times started in the fields adjoining the Fakenham-Dereham road before joining and finishing on the racecourse proper. After the Second World War, racing resumed in 1947 and in addition to the Easter meeting there was now a second meeting allotted on Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday for which success was assured with no fewer than 208 entries for the six races. In 1953, the original Grandstand was built with enlargements to the paddock and the Paddock and Parade Ring moved.
1965, saw the formation of Fakenham Racecourse Ltd, to continue to qualify for Levy Board support and fundamental to surviving the threat of closure. The financial support was enhanced when part of the racecourse was leased to develop a sports centre to include a golf course together with tennis and squash courts for the benefit of the local community with improved facilities at the racecourse.
There has always been royal patronage for racing in west Norfolk. Commencing at East Winch with the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) through to Queen Elizabeth II, who was Patron for almost fifty years until Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) became patron on 1 January 2000. Fakenham's most extensive project, the £1 million Members' Stand, was named "The Prince of Wales Stand" and officially opened by the prince on 15 March 2002.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, often described as National Hunt's most fervent, enthusiastic and loyal supporter, visited Fakenham racecourse in 1981 and in January 2000.
The course also is a popular caravan and camping site offering 120 pitches across the racecourse as well as a wedding venue in the Prince of Wales stand and hosting a myriad of events throughout the year.
National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of Horse Racing particular to France, Great Britain and Ireland that requires Horses to jump over fences and ditches.
Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and three Grade 1 Jumps races. The current racetrack's grandstand was completed in 2006.
Aintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, bordering the city of Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three days. Aintree also holds meetings in May, October (Sunday), November and December.
Royal Randwick Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing located in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Randwick Racecourse is Crown Land leased to the Australian Turf Club and known to many Sydney racegoers as headquarters. The racecourse is located about six kilometres south-east from the Sydney Central Business District in the suburb of Randwick. The course proper has a circumference of 2224m with a home straight of 410m.
Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of the city centre.
Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, hosts National Hunt horse racing. Racing at Cheltenham took place in 1815, but comprised only minor flat races on Nottingham Hill. The first racing on Cleeve Hill was on Tuesday 25 August 1818 when the opening race was won by Miss Tidmarsh, owned by Mr E Jones. It was a year later when the results were printed in the Racing Calendar when a programme of flat racing was watched by the Duke of Gloucester who donated 100 Guineas to the prize fund. By 1831 races were being staged at Prestbury, although not on the present day course. In 1834 the Grand Annual Steeplechase was run for the first time. In 1839 Lottery won the Grand Annual having previously won the first Aintree Grand National. In 1840 the meeting transferred to Andoversford for a brief period, only to return to Prestbury in 1847. 1902 was a notable year in that racing moved to the present course at Prestbury Park. The new stands were completed in 1914 and the present day Festival races, as we know them, began to take shape. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, over 3 ¼ miles, was run for the first time in 1924, with the Champion Hurdle following in 1927.
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horseracing and is home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations, including Tattersalls, the National Horseracing Museum and the National Stud. Newmarket hosts two of the country's five Classic Races – the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas, and numerous other Group races. In total, it hosts 9 of British racing's 36 annual Group 1 races.
Sandown Park is a horse racing course and leisure venue in Esher, Surrey, England, located in the outer suburbs of London. It hosts 5 Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 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 War Department from 1940-1945 for World War II. The venue has hosted bands such as UB40, Madness, Girls Aloud, Spandau Ballet and Simply Red. The racecourse is close to Esher railway station, 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.
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has 210 acres of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a branch line from London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction.
A steeplechase is a distance horse race in which competitors are required to jump diverse fence and ditch obstacles. Steeplechasing is primarily conducted in Ireland, Great Britain, Canada, United States, Australia, and France. The name is derived from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside.
Wetherby Racecourse is a racecourse situated near the market town of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England, located 12 miles (19 km) from Leeds city centre. For most of its history the course has hosted only National Hunt racing but staged its first Flat racing fixture on 26 April 2015.
Huntingdon Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Brampton near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on a Site of Special Scientific Interest of the original Brampton Racecourse.
Kelso Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Kelso, Scotland. It is frequently described as "Britain's Friendliest Racecourse". It was voted the Best Small Course in Scotland and the North of England in 2007, 2012 and 2014 by the Racegoers Club. In addition to staging Scotland's most valuable hurdle race, the Morebattle Hurdle, Kelso stages a comparatively high number of Class 1, 2 & 3 races over jumps.
Ludlow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Bromfield near Ludlow, Shropshire, England.
Taunton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Orchard Portman, two miles south of Taunton, Somerset, England. Opened in 1927, Taunton is the youngest National Hunt course in England, and the last racecourse to be opened in Britain until Great Leighs in 2008.
The Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival is a horse-racing meeting held over two days by the Oakbank Racing Club at the Oakbank Racecourse located in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The carnival is a mixture of flat and jumping races, with two and four jump races on day one and two feature jumping races on day two.
Bromford Bridge Racecourse was a horse racing course in the Bromford area of Birmingham, England. Its official name was 'Birmingham'. It staged flat and national hunt racing.
Woore Racecourse was an English National Hunt horse racing venue, situated in the village of Woore, in the northernmost corner of Shropshire, on the border with Cheshire and Staffordshire.
Oakbank Racing Club, formerly the Onkaparinga Racing Club, is a thoroughbred horse racing organization in South Australia. It is responsible for the Oakbank Racecourse and running the events of the Easter Racing Carnival on that course, culminating in the Great Eastern Steeplechase.
Colwall Park Racecourse was a British horse racing venue which operated from 1900 to 1939. It was known as one of England’s prettiest racecourses.