Leicester Racecourse

Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, England.[1]

Leicester
LocationOadby, Leicestershire
Owned byLeicester Racecourse Company Ltd.
Screened onRacing TV
Course typeFlat
National Hunt
Notable racesKing Richard III Stakes
Official website

The course is oval shaped and nearly 2 miles in extent.[1] It was opened in 1883.[2]

Before 1883 Leicester Races, which had been run since 1773, were held at what is now Victoria Park, closer to the town centre.

The course hosts both forms of British horse racing event: National Hunt, in which the horses race over fences or over hurdles, and Flat racing, in which the horses run an unobstructed distance.[1]

Prior to the 2009/10 National Hunt season, the open ditch, which was jumped as the fourth last fence, was moved to the home straight. The home straight now consists of four fences, with the open ditch now taken as the third last fence.

Leicester racecourse was the scene of the infamous Flockton Grey ringer case.

The racecourse had its heyday in the late nineteenth century when it staged some of the most valuable races in the United Kingdom including the Prince of Wales Stakes and the Portland Stakes, both of which carried more prize money than any of the five British Classic Races in 1889.[3]

As at July 2019, 16 horses have been killed at the racecourse since 2007.

Notable races
Month DOW Race Name Type Grade Distance Age/Sex
April Saturday King Richard III Stakes Flat Listed 7f 9y 4yo +
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References
  1. British Racing and Racecourses (ISBN 978-0950139722) by Marion Rose Halpenny - Page 159
  2. Elliott, Malcolm (1999). Leicester:A Pictorial History. Chichester: Phillimore. p. 120. ISBN 1 86077 099 1.
  3. "Vigilant" (29 March 1890). "SPORTING". Evening Post. Retrieved 25 December 2014.


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