Leicester Course Guide
Located at Oadby, to the south-east of the city, Leicester is a dual-purpose course which stages competitive action all year round.
On the Flat the highlight is the King Richard III Stakes, run in late April over seven furlongs and open to four-year-olds and upwards who have not won a Group 1 or Group 2 Pattern race for two years previously. However, with hindsight Leicester’s maiden races often offer the best opportunity to see a top-class horse in action as the track is particularly popular with Newmarket and Yorkshire-based trainers.
The highlight of Leicester’s jumping calendar is the Leicestershire Silver Fox Handicap Chase. Ran over and extended two miles and four furlongs every December. The East Midlands track also stages several Hunter Chases that are well-contested in the spring, highlighted by the exploits of the Venetia Williams-trained Teeton Mill, who won a hunter in 1998 before progressing to Hennessy Gold Cup and King George VI Chase glory.
Advance Going
The round course is a right-handed, oval track, about a mile and three quarters in extent, with a run-in of four and a half furlongs. The straight course, on which all races of up to seven furlongs are run, is mainly downhill to halfway, then rises gradually for over two furlongs, finishing on the level. The track is galloping, and for two-year-olds early in the season it poses a test of stamina.
I’ve no idea why so many jockeys shy away from the stands’ side rail on Leicester’s straight track when the ground is soft, because it’s been a huge advantage for years and all too often I seem to see a 20-1 shot win from there as if it’s racing on a surface like the M25. Generally, it’s a nice galloping track, but, when there’s been a lot of rain, it can get very sticky in the home straight. Whatever the conditions, though, you don’t want to be on keen horses at Leicester. They’ll hardly ever last home.
View from the saddle: Jason Weaver
Right handed, rather undulating with a gradual uphill finish of around three furlongs. Hurdle races run on Flat course and usually more testing as a result, that track having been watered during the summer, though races are often steadily run, resulting in the field still being well bunched early in the straight. A higher percentage of casualties over fences suggests obstacles are stiffer than used to be the case. There tends to be an advantage in taking a wide route on the hurdles course when the going is testing.
They’ve made the fences at Leicester slightly easier over the past few years but, when I was riding, I always thought it was one of the biggest jumping tracks around. You still need a good horse to win there, though, because some of the obstacles can still be a little bit tricky, including the second fence in the back straight. The hurdles course can get extremely testing when the ground is winter-soft, partly because of watering on the Flat track during the summer, while the chase course often rides slightly quicker.
View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald
Upcoming races
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18:30 Betting And Gaming Council Novices' Limited Handicap Chase (GBB Race)
(Class 3) (2m 6f 151y) -
19:05 Coldstream Guards Association Handicap Chase
(Class 5) (2m 4f 25y) -
19:40 Royal Anglian Regiment Handicap Chase
(Class 5) (2m 6f 151y) -
20:15 Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Mares' Handicap Chase (Challenger Mares' Chase Series Qualifier) (GBB Race)
(Class 4) (2m 4f 25y) -
20:50 Royal Lancers Handicap Chase
(Class 5) (1m 7f 201y) -
21:23 Leicestershire And Derbyshire Yeomanry Open Hunters' Chase
(Class 5) (1m 7f 201y)
Results
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Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 1m 7f 201y Great Heart'jac (Good to Firm) 07 Dec 2022 3m 55.3s 2m 4f 25y Bold Endeavour (Good to Firm) 07 Dec 2022 5m 6.2s 2m 6f 151y The Wolf (Good to Firm) 18 Nov 2024 5m 40.8s Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 1m 7f 113y Scarlet Ruby (Good to Firm) 14 Nov 2022 3m 45.1s 2m 4f 110y Get A Tonic (Good to Soft) 15 Nov 2021 5m 3.31s Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 5f Over Spiced (Good to Firm) 09 Sep 2025 57.74s 6f Holbache (Good to Firm) 09 Sep 2025 1m 9.08s 7f Menalippe (Good to Firm) 04 Oct 2022 1m 21.99s 1m 53y Strangerontheshore (Good to Firm) 23 Jun 2022 1m 35.7s 1m 2f North Star (Good to Firm) 09 Sep 2025 2m 4.94s 1m 3f 179y Papagei (Good to Firm) 11 Aug 2024 2m 29.27s -
Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L O Murphy 22 6 £36K 27.27% -£9.17 Miss V Williams 22 5 £30K 22.73% -£10.11 Evan Williams 18 5 £26K 27.78% £9.50 D Pipe 14 5 £21K 35.71% £6.82 Dan Skelton 17 4 £25K 23.53% £5.75 L Morgan 11 3 £14K 27.27% -£0.84 K C Bailey 5 3 £17K 60% £13.38 S-J Davies 18 2 £8K 11.11% £0.50 F O'Brien 18 2 £9K 11.11% -£14.33 B I Case 10 2 £9K 20% £2.00 Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L O Murphy 39 11 £55K 28.21% -£5.66 S Edmunds 16 5 £23K 31.25% £4.78 B Pauling 9 5 £23K 55.56% £4.03 Miss V Williams 16 4 £18K 25% -£4.56 H Dickin 12 3 £11K 25% £8.50 F O'Brien 8 3 £11K 37.5% £1.38 G & J Moore 7 3 £12K 42.86% £2.16 M Sheppard 6 3 £10K 50% £1.38 Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies 16 2 £9K 12.5% -£8.50 L Morgan 8 2 £8K 25% -£2.25 Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L A W Carroll 100 14 £56K 14% £15.00 G Boughey 51 12 £53K 23.53% £4.34 R M Beckett 45 10 £49K 22.22% -£15.70 T D Easterby 72 9 £34K 12.5% £5.54 W J Haggas 38 9 £62K 23.68% -£2.86 D O'Meara 46 8 £45K 17.39% £8.03 E A L Dunlop 42 8 £33K 19.05% £41.85 J R Fanshawe 33 8 £39K 24.24% £18.24 C G Cox 32 7 £41K 21.88% £22.33 J & T Gosden 23 7 £38K 30.43% £7.20 -
Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L S Bowen 27 6 £32K 22.22% -£15.83 Charlie Deutsch 16 5 £24K 31.25% -£2.98 Adam Wedge 10 4 £21K 40% £11.50 Thomas Bellamy 6 4 £22K 66.67% £13.90 Benjamin Poste 11 3 £12K 27.27% £2.63 Liam Harrison 12 3 £12K 25% £12.10 Jack Tudor 7 3 £12K 42.86% £2.95 Kielan Woods 5 3 £16K 60% £6.88 J M Quinlan 7 2 £9K 28.57% £5.00 David Bass 11 2 £9K 18.18% £6.50 Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L S Bowen 22 7 £35K 31.82% -£2.02 Sam Twiston-Davies 23 3 £12K 13.04% -£6.50 Charlie Deutsch 16 3 £14K 18.75% -£6.67 Charlie Hammond 11 3 £14K 27.27% -£0.13 Ben Sutton 7 3 £15K 42.86% £0.18 Jonjo O'Neill Jr. 9 3 £15K 33.33% -£3.50 Stan Sheppard 7 2 £7K 28.57% -£2.88 Ned Fox 6 2 £7K 33.33% -£2.64 David Bass 7 2 £9K 28.57% £0.63 C Gethings 7 2 £10K 28.57% £1.90 Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L Rossa Ryan 95 22 £109K 23.16% £14.05 Tom Marquand 80 11 £55K 13.75% -£20.44 Billy Loughnane 85 10 £49K 11.76% -£52.98 Ray Dawson 48 9 £39K 18.75% £97.00 Oisin Murphy 34 9 £38K 26.47% £7.33 Daniel Muscutt 56 8 £37K 14.29% -£19.80 T E Whelan 42 8 £56K 19.05% -£18.94 Alec Voikhansky 24 7 £34K 29.17% £48.00 Darragh Keenan 59 6 £23K 10.17% -£34.55 Hollie Doyle 54 6 £23K 11.11% -£34.95
Future Fixtures
Address & Contact
Leicester Racecourse Co Ltd
Oadby
Leicester
LE2 4AL
0116 2716515
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