Cheltenham Racecourse History
Cheltenham Racecourse at Prestbury Park is a venue for National Hunt Racing and is located on the northern outskirts of Cheltenham, a town in Gloucestershire, England. It is the home of the annual National Hunt Festival held each March.
Racing at Cheltenham dates back to 1818 when a course high up on Cleeve Hill was established. However, before this date a natural style course at Nottingham Hill near Gotheringham had occasionally been used. The races were moved down to Prestbury Park in 1831 where at that time, mixed meetings of both flat and jump racing took place.
In 1840 the Prestbury Steeplechases were transfered to Andoversford (about six miles south east of the centre of Cheltenham). At the same time the Cleeve Hill course was reopened for flat racing but after two years it shut down for good.
By 1847 jump racing was back at Prestbury. This meeting was held at Noverton which adjoins Prestbury. The return probably had something to do with pressure that had been exerted by certain influential characters. More than likely, it was any of a number of the fine horsemen in the locality at the time, which included Tom Olliver who was the first man to ride two consecutive Grand National winners, William Holman who was an ancestor of Champion National Hunt Trainer David Nicholson and who was also the winner of Cheltenham′s Grand Annual Steeplechase five times, the Archer′s, Fred who was a prolific Champion Flat Jockey of his day and his father William who rode the winner of the 1858 Grand National and also kept the local pub the King′s Arms in Prestbury, George Stevens who rode five Grand National winners and Tom Pickernell who rode three Grand National winners.
In the 1860′s race meetings were held at Southam which is a village a mile or so north of Prestbury and in 1867 they were held at Kyte Park, a farm to the north of Prestbury.
Steeplechasing moved to Prestbury Park in 1898 but it was not until 1902 that a permanent course was laid out on the current site.
These days there are actually three different courses at Cheltenham all on the same site. They are known as the Old Course, the New Course and the Cross Country Steeplechase Course.
Principal Races
When the racing was held annually at Cleeve Hill, it was at a two day meeting in July, there was a particular race that was run known as the Gold Cup. It was a three mile, weight for age flat race for three year olds and upwards. However, it wasn′t until after the present course at Prestbury Park had been established for some time that the history of the current Cheltenham Gold Cup started. In 1924, the Cheltenham executive decided to introduce a three and a quarter mile, weight for age steeplechase. This race was called, as we now know it, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The very first running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by Red Splash ridden by Dick Rees and the first prize money was only £685.
In 1927 a weight for age race for hurdlers was devised. It was to be run over two miles 110 yards and was called the Champion Hurdle Challenge Cup. The first running of the Champion Hurdle was won by Blaris ridden by George Duller.
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