Uttoxeter Racecourse is a leading National Hunt racing ground in the old town of Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire, Britain. The racecourse is a left-handed oval in shape and measures one-mile two-and-a-half furlongs in terms of circumference. Its back straight’ features a dogleg toward the right and undulates as it soars over Clump Hill. The racecourse maintains a downhill stretch around the rear bend into the well-leveled home straight. Uttoxeter’s home straight of about four furlongs is generally flat and galloping to allow for fair and neutrally competitive finishing to most of the races that include the aptly laid-out staying chases. The outlook of the racing track often makes it possible front-running tactics to yield maximum results.
With a long history, that goes back to early days of the 1900s. Uttoxeter has hosted some of the most significant celebrated events of the previous Millennium. In 1907, the racing facility was established and launched by a company convened to take over the key interests and license of Keele Park racing grounds, which had recently closed down its operations. There were five days of horse sporting in 1907, two in May, two in October and one in December. Going by 'The Racecourse of Great Britain and Ireland' guidelines "the meeting is largely patronized by the nobility and gentry and sportsmen in the county there being 100 members already subscribed to the Club". However, racing activities would be suspended again during the First World War.
In 1921 racing activities were restarted, even though the initial gathering had to be void due to bad weather conditions. Meetings were held yearly: in April, May, September and October, and while the racecourse course never established any records, there were always excellent fields, huge crowds, and a little but stable profit for the Racecourse Company. In 1945, during the Second World War, the racecourse was put under requisition by the War Department and no racing activities, as was the case across the beleaguered nation, took place.
In 1949, the Uttoxeter Urban Council appointed a committee to look into the non-resumption of racing activities after the global war. A section of the course contained a four-acre meadow which the Racecourse Company did not fully own, but merely leased from a peasant farmer, who was hesitant to lease or trade it to them at an amount which they could manage to pay. It occurred that the company would have to face liquidation and the racing grounds would be confiscated.
In 1952, after a lot of debate, the course re-started racing activities on April 12th, 1952. With a crowd capacity of 12,000, the gathering was hugely successful that the organizing members were approximately overwhelmed. The Uttoxeter Urban Council had chipped in to rescue of the racecourse and their deliberation to purchase it was upheld by the local community at Uttoxeter Racecourse. Today, Uttoxeter is one of the most prominent racing facilities in terms of sporting infrastructure and hospitality facilities as well. With thousands of fans who fill the field on major occasions, Uttoxeter is no doubt a racing ground of global note. It ranks above many other racecourses that were started several decades earlier.
Visit Uttoxeter Racecourse Website Here
Contact details: Uttoxeter Racecourse, Wood Lane, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, ST14 8BD
YouTube