Lingfield Park Racecourse Guide

Lingfield Park is known for being one of five courses in the UK to have an artificial track but that’s not all the course has to offer. It is also home to two turf courses, one for flat racing and one for jump racing, so it’s a venue with plenty of variety.

The three courses means action takes place all year round at Lingfield and it’s a place absolutely rammed with racing action. The Surrey-based course regularly hosts over 80 fixtures each year making it one of the busiest around.

Map

The Course

Lingfield’s Polytrack course runs on the inside of the turf which means it’s quite a short track, less than a mile and a quarter all the way round. The turns are sharp and it’s a fast track and so handier types with a good turn of pace are favoured here. Being on the inside makes a big difference on the artificial course so a favourable lane draw can often make the difference, particularly in the races of a mile or less.

Unlike the artificial course, the flat turf course can offer a straight sprint track for races up to seven furlongs and 140 yards. Longer races will see horses take on at least two of Lingfield’s three turns and they are sharp turns which require adaptable horses. The last of the three bends is the most critical however. The turn is downhill all the way heading into the run-in and it’s the perfect spot to leave the rest of the pack trailing, but a lot of balance is required to handle it well.

As for the jumps course, it’s one that is known for often being a very testing course underfoot after some rainfall, particularly down the back straight. When such races haven’t been abandoned, they provide an incredible test of stamina but there is some respite for the runners in that the fences are rather straightforward ones. When conditions are firmer, it’s becomes a fair test but there are still undulations and tight bends to deal with.

Major Races

Lingfield’s flat racing which takes place on the turf in the warmer months holds its own Oaks Trial and Derby Trial in May. They have proved to be good practice runs for the main events at Epsom which follow a few weeks later. As of 2016, eight Lingfield Derby Trials winners went on to win the Derby and several others won both the Lingfield Oaks Trials and the Oaks, including Look Here in 2008.

The artificial course is no stranger to some big flat races too, however. The Winter Derby trial and the Group 3 Winter Derby which proceeds it are a couple of the most esteemed races at Lingfield Park. The Churchill Stakes, which is run in November, is another one of the feature races but races that take place during the All-Weather Championship Finals are the pick of the lot. In 2016, the day proved to be the most popular of all Lingfield’s meetings with a record 10,000 people in attendance to see the action which paid out £1m in prize money.

Lingfield also hosts plenty of National Hunt action but none of the jumping races can be considered major races. This wasn’t the case in 2006 however as Lingfield hosted the only renewal of the Grade 2 Churchill Road Hurdle which was won by Tony McCoy. It was essentially replaced two years later by Ascot’s Holloway’s Hurdle which still runs today.

Visiting

With such a huge number of fixtures planned year in year out, finding a day that suits at Lingfield Park is a very easy task.

History

Lingfield Park Racecourse was opened in 1890 by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. The soon-to-be-king allowed Lingfield Park to use the Prince of Wales feathers in its official heading and it’s something that has remained ever since. Several courses in Surrey had closed in the years before Lingfield Park opened and the lack of competition was a huge benefit to new venue.

The racecourse initially featured only jump racing but was given the all clear to include flat races four years later. The inaugural flat meeting saw the Prince of Wales in attendance and the first race of the day, the Oxted Selling Handicap, caused a stir when the winner was disqualified.

Races & Winners

In 1920, Gordon Richards, the only flat jockey to have received a knighthood, made his competitive debut at Lingfield Park on a horse called Clockwork. Although he finished unplaced, Clockwork’s trainer saw enough potential in the young jockey who went on to win 26 champion jockey titles and always held a soft spot for Lingfield.

Twelve years later, Lingfield introduced the Derby Trial Stakes quickly followed by the Oaks Trials Stakes which put it well and truly on the racing map. The similarities in the course (with Epsom) made it a great place to hold a trial race and the first Derby Trial winner, April the Fifth, went onto win the Derby.

Other Uses

Racing became a constant feature from this point except during the Second World War when Lingfield Estate was used as an internment camp for Italian soldiers. Many of Lingfield’s facilities came in useful for the war effort and even the home straight was used by the Home Guard for marching and attack practice.

Improvements

In 1989, Lingfield Park made history by being the first racecourse in the UK to have its own all-weather track. The Equitrack course remained until 2001 when it was replaced by the superior and more modern Polytrack surface. Further improvements were made in the years that followed including work on the back straight of the turf course and £5.5m investment in the main grandstand and other spectator facilities.