With all of the big race action taking place at Ascot, Haydock and Lingfield, on Saturday, it’s easy to overlook that it’s also an important day at Nottingham where the Listed Kilvington Fillies Stakes will be renewed. This year’s race looks extremely competitive and cases can be made for Lady Macapa, Glitter Girl, Bounce, Mystic Dawn and several others. Here is a quick guide to racing at this East Midlands venue.
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Nottingham Racecourse is located at Colwick Park, which is very near the River Trent and just a couple of miles from Nottingham City Centre. There is an inner and an outer course at this venue. Both tracks are left-handed and about twelve furlongs in length. There is a six-furlong straight on the outer course, which is only used in the summer. The inside Spring/Autumn course has a slightly shorter five-furlong straight.
Nottingham is regarded as one of the least demanding in British racing. The bends are not sharp and there is little undulation across the turf. The only awkward part of the course is the home turn, which is a little more acute.
Early Years
Racing has been taking place here since the 18th-Century. The course was among the first to be allowed to hold a Royal Plate race (which requires special ascent from the sitting King or Queen). That race was for 6-year-old horses and run over a series of heats.
Back then, the races were taking place at Nottingham Forest. The move to Colwick Park came just before the turn of the 19th-Century. In the mid-1960s, the racecourse was sold. While they local council was the buyer, this did not guarantee the future of this track as an operational racing venue. Luckily help was at hand and the Levy Board provided funding for the numerous improvements that were required at that time.
National Hunt Races
Both National Hunt and flat racing took place here until just before the end of the Twentieth-Century. At that point, jumps racing was abandoned and this course is now for flat racing only. A railway station used to serve Nottingham Racecourse, but it is no longer in use. The station has fallen into chronic disrepair and only a few broken walls now remain.
Black-type races amount to just a couple of Listed contests, the other one being the Further Flight Stakes. Named after the legendary horse, this is a middle-distance encounter over 1m 6f. Other than these two races, the action at Nottingham is fairly unremarkable.
A Day Out At Nottingham
However, do not let that put you off if you are planning to make a day of it at Nottingham Racecourse. This is a very friendly venue and a visit will not be expensive. There is no formal dress-code, parking is free and you can either bring your own food and drink or purchase it from any number of stalls, bars and restaurants that are scattered around the course.
Betting With RaceBets
Why not create a RaceBets account and place your bets prior to arrival? You will avoid queueing on the course and get a number of benefits that will not be available to you from on-course bookies. This includes our incredible welcome bonus, plus various money-back offers.
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