The 19 courses that make up Yorkshire’s racing heritage

The crown jewel on the Knavesmire at York is encircled by four courses in the North Riding – Redcar, Ripon, Thirsk and Catterick – and by Wetherby and Pontefract in the west, Beverley in the east and Doncaster to the south. The York course attracts around 350,000 spectators in an average year and is second only to Ascot in the prize money available at each meeting.

Doncaster, meanwhile, is one of the oldest and largest courses in the country and home to the world’s oldest classic race, the St Leger, first run in 1776.

But Yorkshire’s racing story also extends to Hambleton, where a course said to be one of the finest in the country operated until 1911. It also takes in Hull, Northallerton and Richmond, which closed during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

And until the 1700s there were also courses at Bedale, Bradford, Selby, Stokesley, Follifoot near Harrogate and Bishop Burton near Beverley,

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please – if you can – pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson