Wolverhampton Racecourse
Encyclopedia
Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton
, West Midlands
, England
. The track was the first to be floodlit
in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening.
The course has a Polytrack
surface, and is one mile (1,609 m) in circumference, with left-hand turns — giving it greater commonality with most racetracks found in the United States
than with other venues in the UK.
. In 2004 the Fibresand and turf tracks were replaced with one Polytrack surface, as well as refurbishment of the hotel and conference facilities. Since that time the course has only held flat all weather races.
The course has been granted planning permission by Wolverhampton City Council, to expand the hotel from 54 to 170 bedrooms and to tarmac the over-spill car park. The £26 million project also includes plans for a casino which would create the first racino
in the UK.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, 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...
. The track was the first to be floodlit
Floodlights (sport)
Floodlights are broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial lights often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions....
in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening.
The course has a Polytrack
Polytrack
A synthetic racetrack surface is any kind of surface substance that replaces grass, dirt or sand as the racing surface on a horse racing track. Synthetic surfaces may be desirable over traditional surfaces for several reasons, most prominently the reduction of injuries and possible deaths to horses...
surface, and is one mile (1,609 m) in circumference, with left-hand turns — giving it greater commonality with most racetracks found in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
than with other venues in the UK.
History
There has been a racecourse in Wolverhampton since 1887, although it has moved location and is now based at Dunstall Park. In December 1993 the course was re-vamped with floodlights and a new all-weather Fibresand track that ran alongside the turf track. A hotel, new grandstand, restaurant and executive boxes were also built at this time. In 1999 the course was bought from private ownership by Arena LeisureArena Leisure
Arena Leisure plc is a public limited company based in London, England, that is the operator of seven of the UK's horse racing courses and other leisure industry interests. The company was founded in 1997. The company operates golf courses, hotels and joint ventures with a 47.85% stake in "At The...
. In 2004 the Fibresand and turf tracks were replaced with one Polytrack surface, as well as refurbishment of the hotel and conference facilities. Since that time the course has only held flat all weather races.
The course has been granted planning permission by Wolverhampton City Council, to expand the hotel from 54 to 170 bedrooms and to tarmac the over-spill car park. The £26 million project also includes plans for a casino which would create the first racino
Racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette....
in the UK.