Chelmsford Racecourse was a horse racing venue located at

Galleywood Galleywood is a village surrounded by countryside in Essex; it is situated on the outskirts of the city of Chelmsford, about 30 miles from London. The A12 trunk road passes nearby, which connects to the M25 in London. Galleywood sits astride a ...

, near

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Lond ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The course was active from at least 1759 until its final closure in April 1935. The course initially staged

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic p ...

before switching to

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

in 1892. Amongst the horses who raced at the course was the

Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs ...

winner

Golden Miller Golden Miller (1927–1957) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the most successful Cheltenham Gold Cup horse ever, winning the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936. He also is the only horse to win both of the United Kingdom's p ...

, who won two

hurdle A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural us ...

races at Chelmsford in 1931. Parts of the course have been preserved and can still be seen. The course was described as being right-handed, about two miles long with a run-in of six furlongs. The course enclosed a windmill, a brickworks and the church of St Michael and All Angels. It crossed a main road twice and a by-road, and the roads were closed to traffic when race meetings were held.

References

Sport in Chelmsford Defunct horse racing venues in England 1935 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct sports venues in Essex {{UK-horseracing-venue-stub