Towcester Racecourse is a greyhound racing track and former

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

venue at Towcester (pronounced "''Toh-ster''") in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It has staged the English Greyhound Derby in 2018, 2021 and has won the contract for the next 5 years from 2022.

Horse racing

Horse racing at Towcester goes back to the 18th century. Towcester is one of many places listed in James Christie Whyte's ''History of the British Turf'' where annual horseracing had ceased to occur after 1798. The first meeting over the modern course took place in 1928. The Towcester Racecourse Company was formed under the direction of Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, later 1st Lord Hesketh, and it was there on his estate of Easton Neston, that the course was sited, and the first

grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...

built. Towcester was popular among the racing fraternity, mostly because of the sharp bends in the course, and the final gallop to the finishing post was uphill, which tested the horses and results in some unexpected finishes. In 2004, the Easton Neston estate, including the race course, was put up for sale. The third Lord Hesketh later decided to retain ownership of the course and sold only a portion of the estate to a Russian-born businessman. Entry was free from 2002 until 2006, during which time the course saw attendance grow significantly. In mid-2006, it was announced that from the 26th of December 2006, Towcester would be charging for entry to their two most popular annual meetings;

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

and

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

. Selected other meetings were free. In 2008, Lord Hesketh decided to sell the course, which was offered as a going concern. On 7 November 2013, jockey Tony McCoy got his 4,000th career win at Towcester, riding Mountain Tunes to win the Weatherbys Novices' Hurdle.

Greyhound racing

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

track has been built inside the racecourse, which opened in December 2014.

2018 administration

In August 2018 the future of Towcester racecourse was put in doubt. A statement released by the racecourse on 16 August read: On 23 August KPMG were appointed as administrators and 134 out of 137 members of staff at the racecourse were made redundant, many having to claim statutory redundancy from the government. On 13 November, the administrators announced that the racecourse's assets were being sold to a company called Fermor Land LLP. This company was formed on 18 October (26 days before the sale) and is headed by Lord Hesketh's brother-in-law Mark Westropp, a trustee of the Hesketh Family trusts. In late October 2019 Kevin Boothby signed a 10-year lease deal for Towcester Racecourse.

References

External links

Official websiteTowcester Racecourse & Leisure Health & HygieneCourse guide on GG.COMTowcester Live Race
{{Horse racing in Great Britain Defunct horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Northamptonshire Music venues completed in 1928 1928 establishments in England Sports venues completed in 1928