Salisbury Racecourse is situated four miles from the cathedral city of Salisbury, in the county of Wiltshire, in South West England. The earliest written records of racing at Salisbury date from 1584, making it one of the oldest racecourses in the country. The Bibury Club, originally founded in 1681, in the presence of King Charles II, began its association with Salisbury Racecourse in 1899 and the Bibury Handicap, run over 1 mile 4 furlongs in June, still bears its name. Salisbury is a small, attractive, but nonetheless challenging racecourse, which is often used by trainers to educate young horses. Today, Salisbury Races plays host to fifteen Flat fixtures between May and October.
For racegoers, Salisbury Racecourse offers a choice of three enclosures, the Bibury Enclosure, Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure and the Course Enclosure, with admission prices of £20, £12 and £6 respectively. Admission is free for accompanied children.
For business meetings, conferences, product launches, team building and other corporate events, Salisbury Racecourse offers a selection of flexible, well equipped rooms, including breakout and syndicate rooms, which can be laid out to suit your needs. Full disabled access and facilities are available, along with free Wi-Fi access and unlimited free car parking.
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Getting there
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What's the Salisbury course like?
For racegoers, Salisbury Racecourse offers a choice of three enclosures, the Bibury Enclosure, Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure and the Course Enclosure, with admission prices of £20, £12 and £6 respectively. Admission is free for accompanied children.
For business meetings, conferences, product launches, team building and other corporate events, Salisbury Racecourse offers a selection of flexible, well equipped rooms, including breakout and syndicate rooms, which can be laid out to suit your needs. Full disabled access and facilities are available, along with free Wi-Fi access and unlimited free car parking.
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Notable Races and Events
The most prestigious race of the season at Salisbury is the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes, run over a mile in August each year and worth £31,191 in prize money. The most recent winner of this well-established, highly-regarded race was Andrew Balding's Tullius, who was winning his fourth race of the season and his seventh race overall when driven out to win by half a length, despite a very awkward head carriage.
Steve Cauthen made his British debut, as an 18-year-old, at Salisbury Racecourse on a rainy day in April, 1979. His first ride, on Marquee Universal for Barry Hills, was a winning one and exactly four weeks later he won his first British Classic, the 2,000 Guineas on Tap On Wood, again for Barry Hills.
Lester Piggot had his first ride in public at Salisbury Racecourse, as a 12-year-old boy, in April, 1948. Apparently, 14lb of lead had to be added to his saddle cloth to make his correct riding weight of 6st 5lb. Some 44 years later, Piggott also rode two of the final winners in his British career total of 4,493, in September, 1992 and he returned to the course in 2004 to open the new grandstand.
Top Owners, Jockeys and Trainers
Richard Hannon trains at East Everleigh, just 23 miles up the A360 from Salisbury Racecourse and consequently has had nearly three times as many runners at Salisbury than any other trainer during the last five seasons. It's therefore no surprise to find that he's also had over three times as many winners than any other in the period and his record of 67 winners from 384 runners stands head and shoulders above the rest.
It's similarly unsurprising to find that Hannon's stable jockey, Richard Hughes, with 50 winners from 205 rides is miles clear at the top of the jockeys' table and another of Hannon's jockeys, Pat Dobbs, is in second place with 17 winners from 108 rides. Salisbury is another course where the Maktoum family traditionally does well and Hamdan Al Maktoum, with 9 winners from 86 runners, is just ahead of Sheikh Mohammed's Goldolphin operation, with 9 winners from 60 runners.
Follow Salisbury Racecourse on Social Networks
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