The Jutland Racecourse ( Danish: Jydsk Væddeløbsbane) is a public racecourse in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The racecourse is situated on ''Observatorievejen '' adjacent to the Aarhus Sports Park in the Aarhus C district north of

Højbjerg Højbjerg is a postal district of Aarhus, Denmark. Højbjerg originated as a coastal suburb to the south of Aarhus, but has now completely merged with the city. Højbjerg is located 5 km from the city centre and had a population of 22,000 i ...

History

The first horse races in Aarhus were held around 1898 on ''Marselisborg Mark'' or ''Skejby Mark''. Races were almost all gallop apart from a few exceptions in the 1910s. There was no tradition in Aarhus for horse racing and the only areas large enough to accommodate it as a spectator sport were two hilly. In April 1923 local organizations requested Aarhus city council some of the newly acquired Marselisborg estate to establish a proper racecourse for horse racing. Aarhus Stadium had been completed in the area in 1920 and a majority in the city council felt that the two facilities would complement each other. The racecourse was approved in 1924 and granted a loan of 20000

Danish Kroner The krone (; plural: ''kroner''; currency sign, sign: kr.; ISO 4217, code: DKK) is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code "DKK" and currency sign "kr." are in common ...

and on 29 June 1924 the racecourse was inaugurated. The racecourse was initially a 1200 meter long grass lane and one lane with four fixed obstacles for steeplechase races. Additional facilities included betting booths, tribunes and a restaurant. In the 1930s the racecourse was expanded and renovated a number of times, frequently with public funds from job creation projects initiated during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The first expansion took place in 1935. In 1938 the largest expansion took place and the course was evened out so the difference in height was reduced from 9 meters to 4 meters. In 1939 large concrete tribunes were built with offices and betting booths underneath and private spectator boxes.

References

External links

* * Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jydsk Væddeløbsbane {{DEFAULTSORT:Jutland Racecourse Sport in Aarhus Horse racing venues in Denmark Sports venues in the Central Denmark Region Buildings and structures in Aarhus Sports venues completed in 1924 1924 establishments in Denmark