Newbury Racecourse

History

Although the racecourse on its current site was not established until 1905, the first recorded horse racing in Newbury took place in 1805 with 'Newbury Races', an annual two-day race meeting at Enborne Heath. The meeting lasted until 1811 when it transferred to Woodhay Heath until 1815.

The course came into being in the early 20th century, and was the idea of a leading Kingsclere trainer, John Porter, who realised that the flat meadows beside the railway and the River Kennett at Newbury would be an ideal site for a course to serve the many training stables within a 30-mile radius of Newbury. These included Kingsclere, Weyhill, Wantage and Lambourn. The land which Porter wanted was owned by Mr. L. H. Baxendale, who lived at Greenham. Mr Baxendale liked Porter's idea and eventually became Chairman of the Newbury Racecourse Company.

In 1903 Porter took his plans to the Stewards of the Jockey Club, who turned them down because there were already enough racecourses. The story goes that a dejected John Porter left the Jockey Club and happened to bump into King Edward VII on Newmarket High Street, The king listened to Porter's story and gave his support to the proposal of a racecourse at Newbury. The Jockey Club changed its mind and granted a licence. In 1904 the Newbury Racecourse Company was founded, purchased the land and constructed the buildings and stables on the current site. The Great Western Railway Company built a station near the course. Many of the opening day's crowd of 15,000 would have travelled by train.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, 26 and 27 September 1905, the first ever race meeting took place at Newbury Racecourse. Mr. D. V. Pullinger's Copper King, at 100-7, ridden by Charlie Trigg and trained by Charles Marnes, won the opening race, the Whatcombe Handicap at 2pm, worth £160, over five furlongs. There were twenty-eight runners. The racecourse's founder, John Porter, trained Zealous to win the 1m 4f Regulation Plate, worth £100, on 27 September.

National Hunt racing followed shortly after Flat racing and in 1906, nine days racing were planned for Newbury – six on the Flat and three over Jumps. The course has been home to both Flat and Jump racing ever since, and celebrated its centenary in 2005.

During the First World War, the racecourse was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for German prisoners.

During the Second World War, Newbury was occupied by the American Army. The turf was covered with twenty-two miles of sidings, which necessitated fresh grass being laid for the whole course. Racing resumed in April 1949, but until the early 1950s the straight course was restricted to six furlongs, rather than a mile.

Sir Peter O'Sullevan's last broadcast commentary took place in November 1997 at Newbury, on the Hennessey Gold Cup, won by Suny Bay.

Elizabeth II was a regular attendee of race meetings at Newbury, most notably in 2012, when she celebrated her 86th birthday there.

In September 2020 it was reported that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newbury Racecourse had experienced a 68% loss of turnover for the first 6 months of 2020.

In January 2021 a COVID-19 vaccination centre was established at Newbury Racecourse.

Course

James Gill wrote in 1975: "There is not a racecourse in the country more popular among both National Hunt and flat than Newbury. Riders appreciate the good ground they generally find on what is a fine, galloping track with long straights, easy left-handed bends and a racing surface of resilient, thickly-matted meadow turf. The course undulates slightly just below the seven furlong bend and inside the final furlong, and there is a gentle downhill run to the turn for home, but otherwise Newbury if pretty well flat, 80 feet wide on the round course, 90 on the straight and as fair a test of a racehorse as could be devised."

The flat course is over 1 mile 6 furlongs round, with a straight mile which joins the round course to form a home straight of 5 furlongs. Races over 7 furlongs and one mile are also run on the round course, starting on a chute.

The national hunt course is over 1 mile 5 furlongs, with eleven fences: eight plain, two open ditches and the water jump. There are four fences in the home straight, the second of which is an open ditch.

Concerts

Newbury Racecourse has increasingly played host to numerous live concerts in recent years. This has predominantly been through the Party in the Paddock, in which horse racing meets during the summer are accompanied by a live concert at the end of racing.

One of the first concerts held at the racecourse was by Welsh reggae-metal band Skindred in 2006, followed by English reggae and pop band UB40 in July 2008. The latter was one of two concerts held in 2008, with Irish boyband Boyzone performing in August as part of the Ladies Day horse racing meet.

Since 2008, Newbury Racecourse has held between one and three concerts each year, mostly in support of horse racing meets. This has included three appearances by Madness, Tom Jones, Simply Red and Olly Murs.

American singer Lionel Richie was forced to cancel a performance at Newbury Racecourse in September 2012 due to illness, which would have been his first performance in the UK since 2009.

American girl group Pussycat Dolls were scheduled to perform at Newbury Racecourse as part of the Party in the Paddock on 15 August 2020, but was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Party in the Paddock returned in 2021, when Olly Murs performed the first concert at Newbury Racecourse following the COVID-19 pandemic on 14 August, with an audience of 17,000. Murs had to perform with a leg brace following a serious knee injury. He returned to perform at Newbury Racecourse in August 2023, his third appearance at the venue.

Facilities

The racecourse has a dedicated railway station, which sees heavy traffic and additional trains on race days. It also acts as a venue for conferences, meetings, weddings and Hen and Stag parties.

2011 incident

On 12 February 2011, two horses, Marching Song and Fenix Two, collapsed and died in the Paddock while parading for the first race of the day. Two others also appeared to have been affected, Kid Cassidy and The Merry Giant. The novice hurdle race went ahead, starting about 20 min late, but the rest of the day's racing was abandoned.

On 17 February, the preliminary results of the investigation into the incident were released.

Professor Tim Morris, Director of Equine Science and Welfare for the British Horseracing Authority, reported that they had been informed that there had been leakage from an electrical cable running under the parade ring. Both the horses had been examined postmortem and sudden cardiac arrest, consistent with accidental electrocution, had been identified as the cause of death and no other cause of death was further investigated.

Professor Morris also stated:

Notable races

Image gallery

| File:Newbury Racecourse, crowd.jpg | Crowds at Newbury Racecourse | File:Cois Farraig, Newbury.jpg | Cois Farraig jumps the last in front at Newbury | Tony McCoy, JP McManus & Nicky Henderson.jpg | Tony McCoy, Aigle D'or, J. P. McManus & Nicky Henderson | File:Morning Fog Racecourse Street in Newbury UK.jpg | Newbury Racecourse Road, view from the main corner with the main entrance | File:Newbury Racecourse Vaccination Centre.jpg | Vaccination centre in January 2021

References

References

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11. Blabbermouth. (2006-11-03). "SKINDRED To Embark on U.K. Tour".
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15. (2012-09-22). "Lionel Richie cancels concert at Racecourse Newbury". BBC News.
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22. (12 February 2011). "Electrocution blamed as two horses die at Newbury races". BBC Sport.
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