Cheltenham Racecourse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| United Kingdom Racecourse | |
|---|---|
| Cheltenham | |
 The Racecourse, seen from Cleeve Hill |
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| Official site | |
| Location | Cheltenham, Gloucestershire |
| Owned by | Jockey Club Racecourses |
| Screened on | Racing UK |
| Course type | National Hunt |
Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury near the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Cheltenham is called the "home of National Hunt racing", largely because it hosts the four-day Cheltenham Festival, held in March of each year and featuring the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The racecourse has a scenic location in a natural amphitheatre just below the escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at Cleeve Hill, with a capacity of 67,500 spectators. The racecourse also has its own railway station, although this no longer serves racegoers but is rather the southern terminus of the preserved Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
The main racecourse has two separate courses alongside each other, the Old Course and the New Course. The New Course has a tricky downhill fence and a longer run-in for steeplechases than the Old Course. Hurdle races over two miles on the New Course also have a slight peculiarity in that most of the hurdles are jumped early on in the race with only two hurdles being jumped in the last seven furlongs.
There is also a cross-country course which is laid out inside the main racecourse and is used for cross-country steeplechases.
The racecourse is the home of The Centaur, one of the largest auditoria in the South West of England. This multiple-use complex seats over 2,000 people for conferences and around 4,000 standing for concerts. The racecourse is the venue for the annual Greenbelt festival and Wychwood Music Festival. The University of Gloucestershire holds its graduation ceremony and summer ball at the racecourse.
[edit] Notable races
- Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Champion Hurdle
- Queen Mother Champion Chase
- World Hurdle
- Triumph Hurdle
- Royal & SunAlliance Chase
- Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle
- Supreme Novices' Hurdle
- Champion Bumper
- Festival Trophy
- Spa Novices' Hurdle
- Paddy Power Gold Cup
- Cleeve Hurdle
- Cotswold Chase
[edit] References
- ^ BBC (2005). New developments at Cheltenham Racecourse. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Follow the National Hunt Festival '08 with BBC Gloucestershire
- Go behind the scenes with BBC Gloucestershire's Virtual Cheltenham
- Panoramic photos of Cheltenham Racecourse
- Map sources for Cheltenham Racecourse
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