Catterick Racecourse

Catterick Racecourse, sometimes known as Catterick Bridge Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue one-mile northwest of Catterick in North Yorkshire, England, near the hamlet of Catterick Bridge. The first racing at Catterick was held in 1783. Catterick stages Flat and National Hunt racing. Both tracks are left-handed, sharp, and undulating. The flat course is just over a mile round, with a 3-furlong run-in. There is a straight 5 furlongs course, which runs downhill for 2 furlongs before joining the round course. The jumps course is about 1 mile 2 furlongs round, with eight fences, three in the home straight and five in the back straight. Both straights have an open ditch. Two-mile races start on a chute that extends from the home straight. The runners jump one fence or hurdle before joining the main course. The run-in from the last fence is 240 yards. The national hunt course is on the inside of the flat course on the home straight but switches to the outside for the back straight before returning to the inside on the home turn. Both courses suit front runners; it is not a course for long-striding horses. The gravel subsoil means the going is usually good. It has been said that "it is not one of the North's most glamorous fixtures". The Catterick Sunday Market, held on the racecourse grounds, is the largest Sunday Market in the North of England. The international flat racing champion Collier Hill won his first race here in March 2002. The feature events at the course are the North Yorkshire Grand National in the Jumps season, held in January, and the Catterick Dash in the Flat season, held in October. There are plans to create an All-Weather track and change the layout of the National Hunt course.