Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire,

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Layout

The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the track) usually have the advantage. The final 3

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

s of the track are uphill, making it quite testing. The course was originally a horseshoe of 1 1/2 miles, but in 1983, it was converted into a full circuit of about 2 miles. This made it one of the longest continuous flat racing circuits in Europe and allowed it to stage one of the longest races in the calendar at 2 miles 5 furlongs 133 yards.

History

$The grandstand at Pontefract Racecourse - geograph$ Racing is recorded as having taken place in Pontefract as early as 1648, just before the local

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

was taken by the forces of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

. Races were held in the meadows near the town but these were discontinued by 1769. The townsfolk restarted the sport in 1801 and it has continued ever since. In 1827 the races were held in September and reported as being very fashionably attended. While it cannot "claim to be one of Yorkshire's major courses" it was used for some major races during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when other courses were out of action. These included the war substitute Lincoln and November Handicaps. Pontefract installed a photo finish in 1952 and was also the first English course to have a dope testing facility. The course traditionally began its afternoon race meetings at 2.45 pm - later than most other courses - so that miners at the adjacent colliery could finish the morning shift in time to go racing. This remained the case until the colliery closed in 2002.

Facts and figures

$Pontefract Racecourse seen from Park Hill, Pontefract - geograph$

Flat

*Number of fixtures (2012) - 15 *Prize money (2012) - £731,810 *Top trainer (2007 - 2011 inc.) - Richard Fahey, 28 wins from 213 races

Notable races

References

Bibliography

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External links

Official websiteCourse guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
{{Racecourses in Yorkshire Horse racing venues in England Sport in the City of Wakefield Sports venues in West Yorkshire Pontefract