Chelmsford City Racecourse rose from the ashes of the ill-fated Great Leighs Racecourse, which was built on the same site, near Braintree in Essex, but closed in January, 2009, after going into administration less than twelve months after opening. The racecourse was reopened under its new name in January, 2015, although the track surface and layout remained unchanged. Chelmsford City Racecourse caters, exclusively, for Flat racing.
Course Characteristics
Chelmsford consists of left-handed oval, approximately one mile in circumference, with wide, sweeping turns and a two-furlong home straight. The course is essentially galloping in character, without undulations to unbalance a big, long striding horse. Races over 7 furlongs and a mile start on separate spurs.
The racing surface at Chelmsford is Polytrack, the same as at Kempton and Lingfield. However, the surface has been completely rewaxed, to increase its binding properties and reduce the amount of “kickback” – that is, loose surface kicked back into the faces of the following horses, and jockeys – since the racecourse reopened. The idea was to make racing fairer for horses ridden from off the pace, but statistics suggest that front-runners still have an edge, particularly in sprint races.
Track Facts
Chelmsford City Racecourse is the only racecourse in Essex.
Chelmsford City Racecourse is one of only five fully floodlit all-weather tracks in the country.
The first winner at Chelmsford City Racecourse was Tryster, trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by Adam Kirby, on January 11, 2015.
On September 2, 2017, Chelmsford City Racecourse staged its most valuable raceday so far, with prize money amounting to £200,000.