The first purpose-built racecourse in Britain was, in fact, Sandown Park, which is situated in the town of Esher, Surrey, within the boundaries of Greater London. Obviously, Sandown Park is by no means the oldest racecourse in the country; Chester, established in 1539, Newmarket, established in 1636 and Ascot, established in 1711, to name but three, are all centuries older. Nevertheless, Sandown Park had the distinction of being the first racecourse to be designed and constructed specifically for the purpose, with a boundary fence, enclosures, a grandstand and – for the first time in the history of British racing – an admission fee, of two shillings and sixpence.

The brainchild of Lieutenant Colonel Owen Williams or, more specifically, his younger brother, Hwfa, the construction of Sandown Park was not without controversy. Nevertheless, as reported in ‘Bell’s Life in London, and Sporting Chronicle’, the weekly sporting newspaper of the day, the first meeting was staged on the newly-opened course on April 22, 1875. Any initial scepticism was soon dispelled and Sandown Park has continued to flourish ever since.

A right-handed, galloping course, Sandown Park stages top-class Flat and National Hunt racing throughout the year, but is characterised by a stiff, uphill finish, which places the emphasis on stamina under both codes. Seasonal highlights include the Bet365 Gold Cup, formerly the Whitbread Gold Cup, in April, the Coral-Eclipse Stakes in July and the Tingle Creek Chase in December. ‘Over the sticks’, Sandown Park is considered one of the toughest jumping tests in the country for steeplechasers, especially novices.

The distinction of having the longest, uniterrupted circuit in Britain, without breaks or chutes, belongs to Pontefract Racecourse. Established in 1790 and situated in Pontefract Park, on the outskirts of the historic market town of the same name in West Yorkshire, Pontefract Racecourse is exclusively a Flat racing venue, although it did stage hurdle and steeplechase races earlier in its history.

Originally, the course was horseshoe-shaped, approximately a mile and a half from start to finish, but in 1983 was extended to form a complete, left-handed oval, a little over two miles in circumference.Pontefract Racecourse is characterised by pronounced undulations which, together with a sharp turn into the home straight, which is just a little over two furlongs long, make it fairly sharp in character. That said, the last six furlongs, especially the last three, are uphill, so the course is testing. There is no straight course and sprint races, over five and six furlongs, are run around a left-handed bend.

Despite being the longest continuous circuit in the country, Pontefract Racecourse is not home to the longest Flat race run in Britain, at least not quite. That honour belongs to the Queen Alexandra Stakes, a conditions race run over two miles, five furlongs and 143 yards on the final day of Royal Ascot in June. Nevertheless, the Pontefract Marathon Handicap, run over two miles, five furlongs and 139 yards in April, has the distinction of being the longest Flat handicap run in Britain.

Not to be confused with the long-since-defunct Galleywood Racecourse, a.k.a. Chelmsford Racecourse, on Galleywood Common in Chelmsford, Essex, which staged its last meeting in 1935, the newest racecourse in Britain is, in fact, Chelmsford City Racecourse. Despite the name, the racecourse is actually situated in Great Leighs, halfway between Chelmsford and Braintree and nearly ten miles north of Chelmsford itself.

Indeed, in its original, short-lived incarnation, which lasted just eight months, Chelmsford City Racecourse was known as Great Leighs Racecourse. A left-handed, Polytrack circuit, originally built by local entrepreneur John Holmes, Great Leighs Racecourse opened, to considerable acclaim, as the first all-new course on British soil since Taunton in 1927, in April 2008. However, it staged its final card in January 2009, closed and went into adminstration with debts of £25 million.

The course and facilities were mothballed, with a view to reopening at some point, but it was not until January 2015, following multimillion pound investment, that Chelmsford City Racecourse was ready to rise from the ashes of its doomed predecessor. The first, trial meeting, staged in front of an audience of 800 invited guests, took place on January 11, 2015, but Chelmsford City has since gone from strength to strength. Indeed, as a fully-floodlit, all-weather venue, it is one of the buisiest racecourses in the country. Seasonal highlights include the Chelmer Fillies’ Stakes, run over six furlongs in late April or early May, and the Queen Charlotte Fillies’ Stakes, run over sevn furlongs in July.

It can often pay to side with a certain trainer at a specific racecourse, with some having an excellent strike rate when sending their horses to a particular course. Trainer Jamie Snowden has a solid win rate across the majority of racecourses in the UK, however, we’ve highlighted five racecourses he has an exceptional record at:

Catterick – It’s worth looking at whichever horses Mr Snowden sends to Catterick, with an overall 43% strike rate. However, pay particular interest when he sends them to either bumpers or chases – he has a 75% strike rate (three winners from four runners) when sending horses to bumpers, whilst over fences his record is seven winners from ten runners (70% strike rate).

Haydock – Haydock isn’t the easiest course to have a prolific record at, but Jamie’s impressive 31% strike rate is a credit to the master trainers’ knack for race planning. That strike rate improves to 38% when focusing on horses he sends to Haydock over fences, so look out for any of his runners in chases at the Merseyside venue.

Hexham – Jamie’s 29% strike rate (11 winners from 38 runners) is impressive enough, but pay particular attention to when he sends a horse for a bumper race – the strike rate increases to a phenomenal 80% (four winners from five runners) when focusing solely on his bumper runners! A notable bumper winner he had recently was www.racingclub.com syndicate horse Wendigo, who ran out an easy winner on just his second start under rules, and who followed up next time out under a penalty at Catterick.

Kelso – It is well worth keeping an eye on any of Jamie Snowden’s runners when he sends them to Scotland – he’s had 8 winners from 28 runners he’s sent there in his career. However, there are two courses it’s worth paying particular attention to, Kelso and Musselburgh. He has an excellent 27% strike rate at Kelso, but when you focus solely on his runners over hurdles, that increases to a superb 50% (three winners from six runners), with two of the other six finishing runner-up.

Musselburgh – The top trainer doesn’t send many of his horses to the Scottish venue, but when he does it certainly pays to take notice. In his career, he has only sent three horses on the 768-mile round trip, but it’s resulted in two winners and a fourth!