Warwick Racecourse & Betting Review: Beloved Events, Best Offers and Facts

For a comprehensive overview of the top features of some best UK betting sites for betting on horse racing events at Warwick, you’re best advised to first look at our neat, concise table (shown above). If you’re after a more detailed look at the venue look to the sections below; here you’ll find historical information, general facts and figures and some technical course info. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have all the most important info about the popular West Midlands racecourse and you’ll be able to bet on the different races there with a lot more conviction.

The Turf Itself

Tight, left-handed and reasonably flat, Warwick Racecourse is renowned for providing a fairly stiff challenge for novice and experienced jumpers alike. It has a unique, almost rectangular shape with a straight chute in the bottom corner and four sharp bends, which command respect. There are five fences on the back straight that come in pretty quick succession and can cause runners problems if not tackled properly. To add to this, it’s a tight track where there’s often a fair amount of jostling for position and races tend to be run at a fast pace, so you want to look for runners that are comfortable in cramped spaces. Despite this, however, it’s a course that produces very few casualties and is actually one of the safest racecourses in the British Isles. All things taken into account, it’s a course that calls for confident all-round runners with good stamina.

Most Popular Warwick Horse Racing Events

Warwick horse racing is best known for a handful of events that are held in January and February every year. The first is the Leamington Novices’ Hurdle, a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race run over 2 miles and 5 furlongs and traditionally run in January. It’s reserved for horses aged five-years-old and above and is worth about £35,000. Next is the Classic Chase, a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase for horses aged five and above. It’s a long distance race, run over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs and is worth around £75,000, making it the richest race at Warwick. Last – and by no means least – is the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase, a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in which horses aged five-years-old and above can compete. It pays around £40,000 in prize money and is traditionally held in February.

Some Interesting Facts

Did you know that the Warwick horse racing track used to have the capacity to host both flat and jump racing meetings? Unfortunately, it was forced to abandon flat racing in 2014 after a tragic incident occurred that led to Artful Lady, an Irish-bred mare trained by GG Margarson, being euthanised after falling about three furlongs into the six-furlong handicap event. The four flat racing events held there were temporarily transferred to other venues in the Midlands but later that year a decision was reached to permanently disband flat racing. A later inquiry found that turf management issues had not contributed to the accident, however, after the fall, confidence in certain areas of the track had been lost.

Racecourse Information:
First Opened:	1808	Warwick Racecourse logo The Grandstand at Warwick Racecourse
Max. Race Distance:	3m 5f
Surface:	Turf
Event:	Leamington Novices’ Hurdle
Average Temperature:	3°/22°
Racecourse Capacity:	5000

Dan Skelton, the former assistant to the internationally-renowned champion National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls, is the trainer with the best record at Warwick on the chase course, the flat course and the National Hunt flat course. On the chase course he’s managed 11 wins and 10 places from 34 runners, giving him a course strike-rate of 32.35%, over hurdles he’s recorded 15 wins and 37 places from 85 runners and accumulated over £73,000 in prize money, and on the National Hunt flat he’s managed 5 wins and 4 places from 11 runners, giving him a strike-rate of 33.3% and earning him just under £10,000 in prize money. Just something to consider when thinking about Warwick betting.

Warwick Racecourse: The Story so Far

Situated not too far away from Warwick Castle, the racecourse is one of the oldest in the country and one that has played a key role in the history of British horse racing. Its origins can be traced back to the late 17th-century to the time of the Great Fire. The sport was introduced to the town to try and encourage rich professionals to take part and help rebuild the city after the accident. The first meeting was held in 1707 but the first stand was opened for another century. It would be another century and bit before Warwick horse racing betting would come to be a fully licensed and regulated industry.

To look back across the Warwickshire horse racing track hall of fame is to uncover some great names in the history of the sport of kings. Probably the most famous race to grace the turf is Red Rum, an Irish-bred gelding that took the sport by storm in the 1970’s. As a two-year-old he won over seven furlongs and went on to win the world famous Grand National at the classic Aintree racecourse an unprecedented three times in (1973, 1974, 1977). He has a life-size statue built in his honour at Aintree and a race, the Red Rum Handicap Chase, named in his memory. Head on back to our hub page of horse racing tracks throughout the UK, for more fantastic reviews.