Thursday brings more great action and there’s lots to look forward to, at Galway in Ireland. The Guinness OGB Novice Chase (2:15pm) will feature Willie Mullins’ Townshend and also Peregrine Run.
Raymonda, Music Box and Drumfad Bay are all expected to start, in the Listed Corrib Fillies Stakes (3:25pm), while Timiyan will represent Gordon Elliott in the Galway Hurdle (4:35pm).
Day 3 of Glorious Goodwood begins with the Exchange Handicap (1:50pm), before Endless Time and Melodic Motion lock horns in the G3 Lillie Langtry Stakes (2:25pm).
U S Navy Flag goes for Aidan O’Brien, in the G2 Richmond Stakes (3:00pm) and there’s another chance to see his brilliant filly, Winter, in action in the G1 Nassau Stakes. Sir Michael Stoute’s Queen’s Trust looks the main danger to the English Guineas, Irish Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner.
There are further meetings at Nottingham, Epsom, Ffos Las and also Stratford where the first of 7 contests will get underway at 1:30pm.
Racing At Stratford
Stratford is in the Midlands county of Warwickshire and races are held here between March and November. It is a small course with 3 enclosures – the Club Enclosure, the Tattersall Enclosure and the Centre Course.
History
Racing has been taking place at Stratford for hundreds of years. Some local landowners tried to get the course closed down in 1778, claiming that the racing was causing damage to crops and fences. Action on the turf was curtailed for a whole year and nothing official took place until almost 60 years later. There are thought to have been many undocumented races during this time, however.
In 1836, official racing began to take place, beginning with a chase as well as a selling steeplechase. A horse called Lady Teazle won the big race that day.
The Grand National was won by a horse called Mr Elmore in 1839. In that very same year, Mr Elmore won the four mile chase at Stratford and the horse returned to make it back to back victories, the following year.
The First Regular Meetings
Despite the visits of this famous horse, racing was still only held on a sporadic basis. It wasn’t until 1849 that regular meetings began to take place.
At that time, the most famous Stratford race was the Warwickshire Hunt Cup. Another big race was the 3-mile Shakespeare Cup, although this was not introduced until a few years later.
Racing at Stratford was really starting to take off. Other races were added, including the Avon Steeplechase, which was run over 3 miles before being reduced to a 2-mile encounter. Then came the Town Plate, as well as the Midland Counties Farmers’ and the Tradesman’s Steeplechase. Shortly before the turn of the 20th-Century, the Diamond Jubilee Cup was also made a Stratford fixture.
The first winner of the Warwickshire Hunt Coronation Cup was Alvesto, which won the race by by 40 lengths. The success of the racecourse led to the forming of a company. This took place in the Winter of 1922. 100 shares were issued, each with a value of £20.
Back then the cost of admission was just 2 shillings for the inside of the racecourse. It cost a lot more to sit in the Grandstand (15 shillings) and even more to sit in the Members’ Stand.
Track
The bends at Stratford have now been banked. This has led to the bends not being so sharp – something that will put off the owners of certain horses that cannot run well around tight bends. There is a water jump, right in front of the stands.
Betting With RaceBets
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