Epsom Racecourse, sometimes known as Epsom Downs because of its positioning on the North Downs in Surrey, southern England, is synonymous with the third and fourth Classics of the season, the Oaks and the Derby. The Oaks was first run in 1779 and the Derby a year later. Including the two-day Derby Festival, Epsom hosts as total of 12 Flat fixtures between April and September.

Course Characteristics

Epsom is left-handed, sharp horseshoe, just over a mile and a half in length, with a four-furlong home straight. The mile and a half course, over which the Derby is run, is uphill for the first half a mile, levels out for a quarter of mile and runs downhill around the turn into the straight, known as Tattenham Corner, all the way to final furlong, which is uphill again. The straight course, on which races over 5 furlongs are run, is sharply downhill for the first furlong or so and is the fastest in the world; any hesitation at the start can result in an unrecoverable loss of ground. On the whole, the idiosyncrasies of Epsom suit handy, nimble horses better than long-striding gallopers.

Track Facts

Prior to the inaugural running of the Derby in 1780, the Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury tossed a coin to decide the title of the race.

For the first three years, the Derby was run over a straight mile.

Suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under King George V’s horse, Anmer, at Tattenham Corner during the 1913 Derby.

Lester Piggott is the most successful jockey in the history of the Derby, with nine wins between 1954 and 1983.

The history of Doncaster Racecourse, in South Yorkshire, can be traced back to 1614, when the local corporation acknowledged its failure to ban horseracing and, instead, marked out a racecourse. The fifth and oldest Classic, the St. Leger, was first run on Town Moor in 1778 and, nowadays, forms the highlight of the four-day St. Leger Festival in September each year. In recent years, Doncaster Racecourse has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment and is, in every way, a modern racecourse. It is also the busiest turf racecourse in the country, staging a total of 35 Flat and National Hunt fixtures throughout the year.

Course Characteristics

The round course at Doncaster is left-handed, galloping, flat track, approximately one mile and seven furlongs around and pear-shaped, with the winning post at the tapered end. The lack of pronounced undulations, the width of the track and the 4½-furlong home straight make Doncaster one of the fairest racecourses in the country. Over Jumps, there are eleven, fairly stiff fences, or seven flights of hurdles, per circuit and a run-in of just over a furlong. Excellent drainage means that the going at Doncaster rarely comes up testing, even in the depths of winter.

Track Facts

Doncaster officially opens the Flat season with the Lincoln Handicap in March and officially closes it with the November Handicap.

The Lincoln Handicap, formerly the Lincolnshire Handicap, was transferred to Doncaster following the closure of Lincoln racecourse in 1965.

In 1992, Doncaster hosted the first ever Sunday meeting held on a British racecourse.

Lester Piggott won the St. Leger eight times during his career, but still isn’t the most successful jockey in the history of the race; that distinction belongs to William “Bill” Scott, who won the St. Leger nine times in the mid-19^th century.

Chester Racecourse has stood on the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire, close to the Welsh border, since 1539 and has the distinction of being the oldest racecourse in the country. Chester stages a total of 15 Flat fixtures between May and September, including the popular three-day May Festival, which was first introduced as long ago as 1766.

Course Characteristics

Chester is a left-handed, sharp, circular course, just over a mile in circumference and on the turn almost throughout. It has the distinction of being having the smallest circuit in the country and, with a home straight less than two furlongs long, favours handy, nimble types in all but long-distance staying races. In races over 5 furlongs, Chester has one of the most pronounced draw biases, towards low numbers, of any racecourse in the country.

Track Facts

Chester racecourse is known as the Roodee – a corruption of Rood Eye, meaning “Island of the Cross” – in memory of a curious event in the tenth century. Having fallen on, and killed, Lady Trawst, the wife of the Governor of Hawarden, a statue of the Virgin Mary was tried and found guilty of murder. The people of Hawarden left the statue on the banks of the Dee to “drown”, but the tide carried it to Chester, where it was found by the inhabitants.

The Ormonde Stakes is named after Ormonde, who was unbeaten in 16 races and won the Triple Crown in 1886.

Sea Pigeon, who won the Chester Cup in 1977 and 1978, also won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1980 and 1981.

Shergar won the Chester Vase by 12 lengths in May 1981, just a month before his historic 10-length win in the Derby.

Chepstow Racecourse, situated in Monmouthshire, Wales, is one of just three racecourses in the principality, the others being Bangor-on-Dee, near Wrexham, and Ffos Las, near Llanelli. The dual purpose course staged its first meeting in 1926 and became the home of the Welsh National, a prestigious handicap steeplechase run over 3 miles 5½ furlongs, in 1948. Chepstow plays host to 14 Flat fixtures between May and September and 16 National Hunt fixtures in the remaining months of the year.

Course Characteristics

The round course at Chepstow is a left-handed, undulating, but galloping oval, approximately two miles in circumference. The straight mile course, like the round course, is generally downhill until the five-furlong marker and then generally uphill until the three-furlong marker before levelling out. On the National Hunt course, there are eleven, stiff fences, or seven flights of hurdles, per circuit. The nature of the subsoil at Chepstow means that conditions can become very testing indeed during spells of wet weather.

Track Facts

In 1933, Sir Gordon Richards rode eleven consecutive winners over two days at Chepstow and was beaten a head and a neck on his twelfth mount.

Former National Hunt jockey and trainer, the late David “Duke” Nicholson rode his first winner over obstacles, Fairval, as a 16-year-old in 1955.

The Welsh National is recognised trial for both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National. The last horse to complete the Welsh National-Cheltenham Gold Cup double in the same season was Burrough Hill Lad in 1983/84, while the last horse to complete the Welsh National-Grand National double in the same season was Earth Summit in 1997/98.