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Owned by Leicester Racecourse Company Ltd. Notable races King Richard III Stakes Course types Flat racing, National Hunt racing Similar Fakenham Racecourse, Huntingdon Racecourse, Pontefract Racecourse, Wetherby Racecourse, Towcester Racecourse Profiles | ||
Leicester race course walk expert guide to leicester racecourse
Leicester Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, England.
Contents
- Leicester race course walk expert guide to leicester racecourse
- Leicester racecourse video show round
- References
The course is oval shaped and nearly 2 miles in extent. It was opened in 1883.
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.
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.