Sha Tin Racecourse occupies 70 hectares of reclaimed land to the northeast of Sha Tin town centre in the New Territories region of Hong Kong. The racecourse was originally opened in 1978, but underwent a series of major improvements, including the world’s first retractable roof above the parade ring, in 2004. Sha Tin Racecourse stages a total of 51 fixtures between September and June, generally on Saturday, but occasionally on Sunday and public holidays. Today, Sha Tin Racecourse is famous as the home of four Group 1 races, the Hong Kong Cup, the Hong Kong Mile, the Hong Kong Vase and the Hong Kong Sprint, all of which are run on the same day in December.

Course Characteristics

The turf track at Sha Tin is a right-handed, galloping oval, just under 9½ furlongs in circumference, with a 2-furlong home straight. The dirt track, which runs inside the turf track, is 7¾ furlongs in circumference with a home straight just under 2 furlongs in length. Both tracks have a safety limit of 14 runners.

Track Facts

The Hong Kong Cup, inaugurated in 1988, was Hong Kong’s first international race.

The Diamond Vision screen at Sha Tin is the longest television display in the world.

The Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin, usually held on the third day of the Chinese New Year, is the most popular horse racing event of the year in Hong Kong.

Scottsville Racecourse is situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately a mile and a half from the centre of the capital city, Pietermaritzburg. The racecourse was established, as the City Sporting Club, in 1886 and, at one time, was home to the South African Fillies’ Guineas, the South African Fillies’ Sprint and the Oaks. In 2006, an additional track was constructed at Scottsville Racecourse, at a cost of R4.6 million, allowing the number of fixtures staged to be increased by two-thirds.

Course Characteristics

The round course at Scottsville is a tight, right-handed turf oval, 2,300 metres, or nearly 11½ furlongs, in circumference, with a home straight 550 metres, or nearly 2¾ furlongs, long. The straight course, on which races up to 1,200 metres, or 6 furlongs, are run, joins the round course at the top of the home straight. The straight course runs downhill for the first 400 metres, or 2 furlongs, but uphill for the last 500 metres, or 2½ furlongs, and tends to favour horses coming from off the pace. Horses drawn on the outside hold a distinct advantage on the straight course when the going is soft.

Track Facts

The most valuable race of the year at Scottsville is the Golden Horse Casino Sprint, run over 1,200 metres, or 6 furlongs, in May each year.

The Golden Horse Casino Sprint, formerly the Gilbey’s Stakes, was inaugurated in 1962. The total prize money on that occasion was R7,000 compared with R750,000 in 2013.

The family comedy movie Racing Stripes, about a young zebra who sets his heart on becoming a racehorse, was filmed, in part, at Scottsville Racecourse in 2004.

Brighton Racecourse was moved to its current location, high on Whitehawk Hill, on the South Downs, overlooking the English Channel, in 1822. Under the auspices of the Arena Racing Company (ARC), the largest racecourse group in the country, the Brighton has undergone significant refurbishment in recent years and stages 21 Flat fixtures a year, including the popular August Festival.

Course Characteristics

Brighton is a left-handed, sharp, undulating horseshoe, just under a mile and a half in length. The course isn’t, in fact, a complete circuit, so the longest race possible is over 1 mile 3 furlongs and 196 yards; there’s no straight course either. The defining features of Brighton are pronounced undulations throughout and marked camber towards the inside of the track in the home straight, making it best suited to agile, nimble types. The peculiar characteristics of Brighton often produce course specialists.

Track Facts

Brighton and Hove City Council owns a 20% share of Brighton racecourse.

On August 5 1987, Steve Cauthen rode his 1,000^th winner in Britain on odds-on favourite Picnicing won at Brighton

On July 26 1990, Chase The Door, a 5-year-old gelding trained by John Sutcliffe and ridden by Michael Wigham, won the Brighton Summer Challenge Cup Handicap, run over a mile on hard going, in a time 1m 30.90s. In so doing, he broke the world record for a mile.

On the second day of the August Festival, known as Ladies’ Day, in 2012, jockey Darryl Holland rode a 4,142/1 four-timer at Brighton.

In September 2012, Brighton was awarded a matinee fixture, starting at midday and lasting approximately two and a half hours, by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The meeting was one of six, which took place on consecutive Fridays, as part of a trial by the BHA to increase betting shop turnover.