 | |
| Location | Wolverhampton, West Midlands |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Arena Racing Company |
| Screened on | Sky Sports Racing |
| Course type | Flat |
| Notable races | Lady Wulfruna Stakes |
| Official website | |
Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening. The track surface has been Tapeta since 2014. [1]
There has been a racecourse in Wolverhampton since 1825, in what is now the West Park, where the Park Road follows the line of the track. This was sold to the Corporation in 1878 and, after a gap of nine years, a new course was formed at Dunstall Park. [2]
In 1993, the final National Hunt meeting took place at Wolverhampton. In December of the same year, the course was re-vamped with floodlights and a new all-weather Fibresand track that ran alongside the turf track. A hotel, new grandstand, restaurant and executive boxes were also built at this time. The Queen re-opened the racecourse in January 1994. [3] In 1999, the course was bought from private ownership by Arena Leisure. In 2004 the Fibresand and turf tracks were replaced with a single Polytrack surface, as well as refurbishment of the hotel and conference facilities. Since that time the course has only held flat all weather races. [4]
Following the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing, Wolverhampton became part of Arena Racing Company. [5]
In 2014, the course was closed for redevelopment that included relaying the course with a Tapeta surface. The course reopened on 11 August 2014. [6] [7]
The course has been granted planning permission by Wolverhampton City Council, to expand the hotel from 54 to 170 bedrooms and to tarmac the over-spill car park. The £26 million project also includes plans for a casino which would create the first racino in the UK. [8]
The Lady Wulfruna Stakes is the most valuable race at Wolverhampton. One of the most notable winners of the race is Sovereign Debt who won the Group 3, 2017 Diomed Stakes at Epsom. [9] [10] Three-time champion jockey, Ryan Moore, is the most successful in the saddle in the race with four wins.
The course is one mile (1,609 m) in circumference, with tight left-hand turns — giving it greater commonality with most racetracks found in the United States than with other venues in the UK. The straight is short at just two furlongs. The surface was Fibresand until 2004 when it became a Polytrack. As of 2014, the surface was changed to Tapeta. [11]
Wolverhampton Racecourse has hosted a number of concerts including Madness, Jess Glynne, Kaiser Chiefs, UB40 and The Human League. [12]
Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy, of which £1.05 Billion is from core racing industry expenditure and the major horse racing events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival are important dates in the British and international sporting and society calendar.
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the Queen's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses.
Lingfield Park Racecourse is a horse racing course at Lingfield in Surrey, United Kingdom. It is owned by the ARC Racing and Leisure Group, formerly Arena Leisure Plc.
Arlington International Racecourse was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region had been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks (six) than any other major metropolitan area. Arlington International was the site of the first thoroughbred race with a million-dollar purse in 1981. It was located near the Illinois Route 53 expressway. It was serviced by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
Newcastle Racecourse is a horse racing course located at Gosforth Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, owned by Arena Racing Company. It stages both flat and National Hunt racing, with its biggest meeting being the Northumberland Plate held annually in June.
Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located just outside the city limits to the north of Florence, Kentucky, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), and Winter/Spring —and offers year-round simulcast wagering from tracks across the continent.
Gulfstream Park is a racetrack, casino, and shopping mall in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets. It is among the most important venues for horse racing in the United States. Gulfstream Park Casino is open 365 days a year and offers slots, video poker, and electronic table games.
Southwell Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located 2 miles (3 km) east of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of only six racecourses in the UK to have an all-weather track and is the only one with a Fibresand surface. Fibresand is a mixture of sand and wispy fibres. Southwell has applied to change the track surface from Fibresand to Tapeta in 2021.
Arena Leisure plc was a Public Company based in London, England, which existed as an independent entity until 2012 when it was merged with Northern Racing to form the Arena Racing Company. The company operated seven of the UK's horse racing courses - at the time, a 23% share of the UK horse racing market - as well as other leisure industry interests.
Dundalk Stadium is a horse and greyhound racing venue in Ireland. It is located to the north of Dundalk in County Louth.
The Valedictory Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late November or early December at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Open to horses age three and older, the Grade III stakes is contested on a synthetic "all weather" dirt surface over a distance of 1+3⁄4 miles.
Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is over a mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators.
Monterosso is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was originally trained in Britain, where he won three handicap races and the King Edward VII Stakes as a three-year-old in 2010. After being moved to the United Arab Emirates he recorded his most important success when he won the Dubai World Cup on 31 March 2012.
Arena Racing Company, also called ARC Racing and Leisure Group is a UK private company, created in 2012 by the merger of Arena Leisure and Northern Racing. It owns and operates 16 racecourses in Great Britain, accounting for 39% of British racing fixtures. It also operates hotels at Wolverhampton Racecourse and Lingfield Park Racecourse and golf courses at Lingfield, Southwell and Newcastle. Following the purchase of Nottingham Greyhound Stadium in 2020 the company became the leading Greyhound racing operator in the UK.
The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are:
Toast of New York is an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he was beaten in his first two races but then won two races on the synthetic track at Wolverhampton Racecourse by an aggregate margin of twenty-eight lengths. As a three-year-old, he won the UAE Derby in Dubai and was then campaigned in the United States. He finished second to Shared Belief the Pacific Classic before producing his most notable performance when beaten a nose by Bayern in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. He sustained an injury which prevented a planned run in the 2015 Dubai World Cup and was retired to stud in Qatar. He returned to racing after a three-year gap in November 2017 and won a minor conditions race on his reappearance.
Anapurna is a British Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the 2019 Epsom Oaks. After finishing unplaced on her only start as a juvenile she won a minor race on her three-year-old debut and went on to win the Lingfield Oaks Trial before winning the Oaks on her fourth start. She took a second Group 1 success later that year when she won the Prix de Royallieu.
King of Change is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After finishing second in both of his starts as a two-year-old in 2018 he developed into a top-class miler in the following year, finishing second in the 2000 Guineas and then returning from a lengthy absence to win the Fortune Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. He never raced again and was retired to stud in September 2020.
Nezwaah is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. Unraced as a two-year-old she showed promising form as a three-year-old when she won three races including the Listed Hoppings Stakes. She reached her peak in the first half of the 2017 season when she won the Rothesay Stakes before recording her biggest victory in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes. She raced in five countries, namely England, Ireland, France, Canada and the United States.
Glen Shiel is a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He began his racing career where he showed useful but unremarkable form in his first two seasons, recording his best win in the Listed Prix Le Fabuleux in October 2017. He was gelded but his form deteriorated in 2018 and a transfer to race in England in the following year brought little improvement. After being previously campaigned over middle distances he was dropped back in trip in 2020 and emerged as a top-class sprinter, winning five races including the Phoenix Sprint Stakes and the British Champions Sprint Stakes.
Coordinates: 52°36′14″N2°08′42″W / 52.6040°N 2.1451°W
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