The first meeting on Southwell Racecourse, in its current location, in Rolleston, Nottinghamshire, took place in 1898. The course has seen many changes over the years, most notably the opening of the hurdles track in 1965 and the opening of the all-weather track in 1989. Southwell is less busy than the all-weather tracks at Lingfield, Kempton and Wolverhampton, but still plays host to 57 Flat and National Hunt meetings all year round.
Course Characteristics
The round course at Southwell is a left-handed, sharp, Fibresand oval, a mile and a quarter around, with a three furlong home straight. Races over five furlongs and over a mile and threequarters start on a chute, which joins the round course at the top of the home straight. Fibresand is a deeper, looser surface than Polytrack, more akin to soft, sandy soil.
On the National Hunt course, there are seven stiff portable fences, or five fixed-brush flights of hurdles, per circuit.
Track Facts
No Pattern or Listed races, on the Flat, or Graded races, over Jumps, are run at Southwell.
Southwell was closed for five months in 2007 and two months in 2012/13 because of flooding.