Fontwell Park Racecourse
Encyclopedia
Fontwell Park Racecourse is a horse racing
course located in the village of Fontwell in West Sussex
, England
. It features a figure-of-eight chase course and an oval hurdles
course.
It was the course where Queen Elizabeth II
, then Princess Elizabeth, had her first winner as an owner when Monaveen won the Chichester Handicap Chase there in October 1949. In 1984 John Francome
rode his 1,036th career winner at Fontwell Park, passing Stan Mellor's record for a National Hunt jockey - Francome's record has subsequently been beaten.
The course has been under the ownership of Northern Racing since 2002. The company owns or manages ten racecourses in the UK including Newcastle, Chepstow and Uttoxeter. The feature race of the season at Fontwell Park is the Grade Two National Spirit Hurdle run over a distance of two miles and four furlongs in February. It is a recognised Cheltenham Festival
trial. My Way de Solzen, trained by Alan King, won the race in 2006 before winning the World Hurdle. Lough Derg, trained by David Pipe and owned by Bill Frewen, took the prize in 2008 and 2009. Trenchant (Alan King/Robert Thornton) took the prize in 2010 and Celestial Halo (Paul Nicholls/Harry Skelton) was the winner in 2011.
A book entitled 'The History of Fontwell Park' written by Jim Beavis was published in 2008. It is available direct from the racecourse priced at £10.
A new £6.5m Grandstand opened in the Premier Enclosure in August 2010. It has been sponsored by online betting operator 888sport. The new facility includes a panoramic hospitality lounge for 350 people on the middle floor, twelve boxes on the top floor and a ground floor suite with new catering and betting outlets. The stand has been designed to cater for business 365 days a year with weddings, conferences, meetings and public shows.
There are 23 race meetings at Fontwell Park in 2011 - the 'customer friendly' fixtures include three evenings, five Sundays, one Saturday and a Boxing Day meeting. In March 2011, Fontwell Park was voted 'Racecourse of the Year' at the Betview Awards in London. Lingfield and Punchestown were the runners-up. The course also made headlines around the world on Friday 29th April 2011, when the racehorse Royal Wedding won at the track on the same day as Prince William and Kate Middleton got married. The story went as far afield as Australia, Canada, the USA and across Europe.
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
course located in the village of Fontwell in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It features a figure-of-eight chase course and an oval hurdles
Hurdling (horse race)
A Hurdle race in England is a National Hunt horse race where the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles that are over three and a half feet high. They are typically made of brush, that has some flexability. Hurdle races always have a minimum of eight hurdles and a minimum distance of two miles ....
course.
It was the course where Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, then Princess Elizabeth, had her first winner as an owner when Monaveen won the Chichester Handicap Chase there in October 1949. In 1984 John Francome
John Francome
John Francome MBE is a former National Hunt Champion Jockey.Born in Swindon the son of a railway fireman, his family had no connection with the horse racing world. At sixteen years old he became apprentice to Lambourn trainer Fred Winter and so began his career as a jockey. He rode a total of...
rode his 1,036th career winner at Fontwell Park, passing Stan Mellor's record for a National Hunt jockey - Francome's record has subsequently been beaten.
The course has been under the ownership of Northern Racing since 2002. The company owns or manages ten racecourses in the UK including Newcastle, Chepstow and Uttoxeter. The feature race of the season at Fontwell Park is the Grade Two National Spirit Hurdle run over a distance of two miles and four furlongs in February. It is a recognised Cheltenham Festival
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
trial. My Way de Solzen, trained by Alan King, won the race in 2006 before winning the World Hurdle. Lough Derg, trained by David Pipe and owned by Bill Frewen, took the prize in 2008 and 2009. Trenchant (Alan King/Robert Thornton) took the prize in 2010 and Celestial Halo (Paul Nicholls/Harry Skelton) was the winner in 2011.
A book entitled 'The History of Fontwell Park' written by Jim Beavis was published in 2008. It is available direct from the racecourse priced at £10.
A new £6.5m Grandstand opened in the Premier Enclosure in August 2010. It has been sponsored by online betting operator 888sport. The new facility includes a panoramic hospitality lounge for 350 people on the middle floor, twelve boxes on the top floor and a ground floor suite with new catering and betting outlets. The stand has been designed to cater for business 365 days a year with weddings, conferences, meetings and public shows.
There are 23 race meetings at Fontwell Park in 2011 - the 'customer friendly' fixtures include three evenings, five Sundays, one Saturday and a Boxing Day meeting. In March 2011, Fontwell Park was voted 'Racecourse of the Year' at the Betview Awards in London. Lingfield and Punchestown were the runners-up. The course also made headlines around the world on Friday 29th April 2011, when the racehorse Royal Wedding won at the track on the same day as Prince William and Kate Middleton got married. The story went as far afield as Australia, Canada, the USA and across Europe.