Market Rasen Racecourse is situated just over a mile to the southeast of the town centre of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire in the east of England, approximately 17 miles northeast of the county town, Lincoln.
The history of horse racing in the vicinity of Market Rasen can be traced back to 1800, but it wasn't until 1923 that a group of local entrepreneurs, led by Wilfred Cartwright and James Henry Nettleship, built a racecourse and a grandstand on the current site. The first official race meeting took place the following year and, except for World War II, racing has continued uninterrupted until the present day. The main grandstand was completed in 1960, a photo-finish camera was installed for the first time in 1964 and the grandstand for the Silver Ring was completed in 1967. Nowadays, Market Rasen Racecourse stages 20 National Hunt fixtures throughout the year.
For racegoers, Market Rasen Racecourse offers a choice of four enclosures, known as the Premier Members' Enclosure, the County Enclosure, the Tattersalls Enclosure and the Family Enclosure. General admission prices vary according to whether meetings are designated “Music”, “Feature” or “Standard”; a “Music” meeting in the Premier Members' Enclosure costs £32 per person and so on down a sliding scale to a “Standard” meeting in the Family Enclosure, which costs just £7.50 per person. Concessions are available for senior citizens and students and admission is free for accompanied children.
For corporate events, such as conferences, exhibitions and meetings, Market Rasen Racecourse offers a purpose built events centre, known as the Paddocks, with a range of bars, rooms and suites. The largest space, the Brockelsby Suite on the first floor, offers over 6,000 square feet of floor space and can accommodate up to 250 people in a variety of configurations. The Red Rum Bar, on the ground floor, offers further floor space in excess of 3,000 square feet and works well in conjunction with the Brocklesby Suite. Other smaller rooms, including syndicate rooms, provide flexible spaces for smaller conferences, meetings and team building activities
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Getting there
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What's unique about the course at Market Rasen?
Market Rasen consists of a sharp, right-handed oval, approximately a mile and a quarter around, with minor undulations throughout.
There are seven, relatively easy fences per circuit and a run-in of 250 yards. The characteristics of the course tend to favour handy, front-running types.
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Notable Races and Events
Market Rasen Racecourse stages four important Listed races during the year, the 32Red Handicap Chase and the 32Red.com Hurdle (Handicap), run on the same card in September and the Betfred Summer Plate Handicap Chase and the Betfred “The Bonus King” Summer Hurdle Handicap, run on the same card in July.
In 2012, Steve Gollings' 5-year-old Local Hero won both major hurdling prizes at Market Rasen, while the Betfred Summer Plate went to Lawney Hill's 10-year-old I Have Dreamed, who had been better known in hunter chases in recent seasons and the 32Red Handicap Chase went to Philip Hobbs' 8-year-old The Disengager.
Top Owners, Jockeys and Trainers
Tony McCoy, with 38 winners from 160 rides, holds a healthy lead in the top jockeys' table at Market Rasen for the last five seasons, some 15 winners ahead of his nearest rival, Richard Johnson, with 23 winners from 98 rides.
Jonjo O'Neill is the top trainer in the same period with 25 winners from 167 runners and John Patrick “J.P.” McManus is the top owner with 20 winners from 128 runners. For all that they lead their respective categories by some way, McCoy, O'Neill and McManus have all recorded a less than healthy level stakes loss of 24.94 points or more during the last five seasons.
Follow Market Rasen Racecourse on Social Networks
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