Lincoln Racecourse is a 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 to the west of the city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

, at Carholme, a flat tract of common land in Lincolnshire, England. It was the original location of the Lincolnshire Handicap. The course closed in 1964, and the following year the race relocated to

Doncaster Racecourse Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's List of British flat horse races#Group 1, 36 annual Group One, Group 1 flat races, the St Leger ...

where a small change to the race title sees it run as the Lincoln Handicap. The track's history was long and significant.

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

himself acted as Clerk of the Course there in 1607. He is recorded as requesting that a 450 yards long stretch of the course be "raled and corded with ropes and hoopes" on both sides, so that the horses "that ronned were seen fayre." The Flat racing season usually opened with the three day Spring meeting in March, with the Lincolnshire Handicap on the third day. This race was probably run for the first time on 10 August 1849, over a distance of two miles, and won by a filly, Media, owned by Lord Exeter. Media won another race later in the day. The distance of the Lincoln was reduced to one mile on the straight course in 1864 or 1865. John Rickman describes the Lincoln mile as "easy", as it was slightly downhill for the first two furlongs, with a very-slight left handed elbow before half way. This gave horses drawn with low numbers a disadvantage. The course was a left-handed oval of about one mile, five furlongs, with a home straight of about half a mile. From 1727 at the earliest, Lincoln had held a Royal Plate race, run in 4 mile heats by 6 year olds carrying 12 stone. The course was located west of the City of Lincoln by Saxilby Road. The racecourse was established by the Lincoln Corporation on West Common in 1773. The grandstand of 1897 is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, now used as a community centre. The

A57 road The A57 is a major road in England. It runs east from Liverpool to Lincoln, England, Lincoln via Warrington, Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and Manchester, and then through the Pennines over the Snake Pass (between the high moorlands of ...

passed between the course and the grandstand. During race meetings, this was closed off and traffic diverted, enabling

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

cameras to follow the leaders of the race at close distance all the way from start to the winning post. After closure the course was used for many years as a Point to Point track.

References

Bibliography

* Defunct horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Lincoln, England Defunct sports venues in Lincolnshire 1727 establishments in England 1964 disestablishments in England Sports venues completed in 1727 {{England-horseracing-venue-stub