Brighton Racecourse

Brighton Racecourse is an English horse racing venue located a mile to the northeast of the centre of Brighton, Sussex, owned by the Arena Racing Company. It is situated on Whitehawk Hill, on the edge of the South Downs, about four hundred feet above sea level and a mile from the coast. The geology of the downs is Middle Chalk; therefore the going is nearly always good. The track has the form of a horseshoe one-and-a-half miles in length. This makes it one of the few British courses not to form a complete circuit, like Epsom with which Brighton is sometimes compared. The finishing straight is about four furlongs in length, with a steep descent followed by a slightly-less-steep climb to the winning post. It is a left-handed course, used for flat racing only. The longest race run today is 1 miles. However, the course used to extend a further half-mile across the golf course towards Roedean. This made four-mile races possible, starting at the winning post and going the reverse way round the track, then looping at the two-mile start and returning the conventional way. Hurdle races were also formerly held at Brighton, with one being situated on the steep downhill. The Duke of Cumberland organised the first public racing at the current site in 1783 although racing had been taking place in Brighton since before 1713. Early races were contested by members of the armed forces who were garrisoned in the town. The principal meeting took place in July or August and was timed to fit with the local Whitehawk Fair, which was discontinued by the 1820s. According to legend, King George IV, when still Prince of Wales, invented hurdle racing at Brighton while out riding with aristocratic friends. They found some sheep pens which they proceeded to jump. A grandstand was erected in 1788, but burnt down on 23 August 1796, a fire blamed on a family of paupers who had been allowed to live in it. Wigstead and Rowlandson comment in "An Excursion to Brighthelmstone made in the year 1789", "The race-ground is exceedingly well adapted to the purpose for which it is intended and is one of the most beautifully situated spots in the world.