Four Other Yorkshire Racecourses Within 50 Miles of Beverley

Beverley has its own racecourse used during the summer months for horse racing, but did you know there are four other Yorkshire tracks within a 50-mile radius?

Home to two Listed races on the Flat, the Hilary Needler Trophy for two-year-olds over the flying five furlongs in May and the Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes for three-year-olds and up in August, there is plenty more top-class racing in the White Rose county to enjoy just a short drive away.

Doncaster

Town Moor in Doncaster is a place of historic significance for horse racing. The oldest Classic in the world, the St Leger – which was first run way back in 1776 – takes place at this left-handed, undulating venue famed for its long home straight.

Classics are open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts (and fillies) only and today’s horse racing betting includes ante-post markets on them. The St Leger is an extended mile-and-three-quarters, but there is also National Hunt horse races alongside the Flat.

Besides 11 Group and Grade 2 events, there is a Group 1 for juveniles – the Vertem Futurity Trophy – over the straight mile in October. That is a key Classic trial for the following season. Important handicaps run on Town Moore include the Grimthorpe Chase over jumps and the Lincoln for older Flat horses.

York

Just 30 miles up the road is York Racecourse on the Knavesmire outside the famous city walls. The track is home to three Group 1 Flat races that take place during the Ebor Festival in August.

York holds the distinction of having an all-age sprint, the Nunthorpe Stakes, which is usually run at a blistering gallop. Fillies and mares aged three and up contest the Yorkshire Oaks over a mile-and-a-half, while the Juddmonte International Stakes is a mile-and-a-quarter test for three-year-olds and up.

The Ebor Handicap is one of the most valuable staying races run in the British Isles with £1,000,000 in total prize money. A mile-and-three-quarters around the Knavesmire, which is a flat track run right-handed, is seen as the Melbourne Cup of the UK.

Pontefract

Another racecourse some 40 miles or so away from Beverley is Pontefract. Like its East Riding counterpart, this West Yorkshire venue used for Flat horse racing has Listed races.

There is a good programme for fillies and mares at Pontefract. This includes the Pontefract Castle Stakes for four-year-olds and up over a mile-and-a-half in June, the Pipalong Stakes raced over a mile in August and the Flying Fillies’ Stakes – a six-furlong sprint contest for three-year-olds and above later the same month.

Other black type races held at Pontefract are the Pomfret Stakes for three-year-olds and up over a mile, and the Silver Tankard for juveniles in October.

Wetherby

Since 2015, Wetherby Racecourse has staged both Flat and National Hunt horse racing. It is best known for it jumps action with the Charlie Hall meeting in late October or early November its big day.

The Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase is a launchpad for many staying steeplechasers at the start of the National Hunt season proper. It is supported by the similar grade West Yorkshire Hurdle where the emphasis is also on stamina.

These three-mile tests mean there is no hiding place for racehorses who enter as they have to stay, especially if the ground comes up soft on this left-handed but flat track. Wetherby is about 45 miles from Beverley.