Huntingdon Racecourse is a

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

venue located in Brampton near

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

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 is located on a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

of the original Brampton Racecourse. The most notable race held at Huntingdon Racecourse is the Peterborough Chase in December.

History

The first race meeting at Huntingdon Racecourse took place on

Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...

, 1886. The race was a three mile steeplechase won by a horse named Catherine The Great. In 1920, the racecourse was part of the Huntingdon Steeplechase Group managed by Bob Lenton for 25 years. In 1953, chairman of the committee John Goodcliff managed construction of the grandstand that still stands on the racecourse today. The Peterborough Chase is Huntingdon's showpiece event and started in 1969. By 1979 it secured its formal name as used today. The race has seen big name winners including Best Mate and One Man. Edredon Bleu is the most successful horse in the race, winning four times in a row between 1998 and 2001. Trainer Henrietta Knight saddled 8 winners in the race over 10 years. Currently the racecourse is owned and operated by

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

. Huntingdon Racecourse has been voted Best Small Racecourse in South Midlands and East Anglia by the Racegoers Club twice in 2011 and 2014.

Course

Huntingdon Racecourse only hosts National Hunt races. It is an oval shaped course that runs right-handed. It is notable for its flatness, with few undulations. It is a fast course, however due to its location there can be muddy and testing conditions. The steeplechase course has nine fences, meanwhile the hurdle course has five on each circuit. The home straight features two fences for each type. Until 2008, Huntingdon featured a water jump. The land the racecourse is on was originally known as Brampton Racecourse. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It sits on the flood plain of Alconbury Brook and has a number of rare species including the largest population of green-winged orchids in the UK. Over the years, Huntingdon Racecourse has suffered with extensive flooding which has caused a number of race days to be postponed.

Notable races

References

Huntingdon Racecourse Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Cambridgeshire Sport in Huntingdonshire {{England-horseracing-venue-stub