Location Buckfastleigh, Devon Date opened 21 June 1883 Date closed 27 August 1960 | Owned by Defunct Opened 21 June 1883 Course type National Hunt racing | |
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Buckfastleigh Racecourse (21 June 1883 - 27 August 1960) was a British horse racing venue.
Contents
History
Horse racing is first recorded at Buckfastleigh in the mid 1850s, on a course on Wallaford Down.
In 1883, the town's race meeting was relocated just outside Buckfastleigh to a place called Dean Court on the Dean Marshes, close to the A38 between Plymouth and Exeter. The first race meeting was held at this new location on 21 June 1883 and continued unbroken for over 75 years, until the final race "under rules" took place on 27 August 1960.
Legacy
The main grandstand remains, and has become a well-known landmark in the area. A sister grandstand was relocated to Plainmoor, home ground of Torquay United football club in 1927.
Point-to-point meetings continued to be held from 1960 until 1977, during which time most of the course returned to farmland. Point-to-points have subsequently been revived and continue to this day.