Salisbury Racecourse is a
flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring
thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of
Salisbury,
Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October.
History
Racing at the track, located three miles from Salisbury, has taken place since the mid-16th century. Many great horses have won at the racecourse including
Gimcrack (1768),
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
(1769),
Sun Chariot
A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
(1941),
(1970) and
Brigadier Gerard (1970).
Sir Percy, winner of the 2006 Derby, and
Look Here, winner of the 2008 Oaks, had both won at Salisbury the previous year.
[ Lester Piggott, the ]jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
, first rode in public at Salisbury in 1948 when he was an apprentice jockey aged twelve and weighed only five stone.[ American jockey Steve Cauthen made his British debut at the course in 1979 when he rode Marquee Universal to victory here.
It was here in 1949 that ]Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
first raced Colonist II in the one mile Upavon Stakes. The horse won, and went on to win the Ribblesdale Stakes at Ascot later that year.[
]
The racecourse
About sixteen race meetings take place at Salisbury Racecourse each year between late April and mid-October. It is a downland flat-racing course with no jumps. There is a mix of race types with the majority being handicaps, where horses of similar ability race against each other, and maidens, where horses which have yet to win a race compete. The course is also renowned for its races for two-year-olds, and many of these young horses have gone on to achieve great things.
Notable races
Other races
* Stonehenge Stakes
The Stonehenge Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Salisbury over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in August ...
Salisbury's earliest big race was the King's Plate for 6-year-olds, awarded by George I in 1723.
References
External links
*
Salisbury Racecourse Facebook pageCourse guide on GG.COM, archived in December 2005Course guide on At The Races, archived in September 2007
{{Horse racing in Great Britain
Horse racing venues in England
Sports venues in Wiltshire
Sports venues completed in 1723
1723 establishments in England