Goodwood Racecourse

For the motor racing venue, see Goodwood Circuit.

Goodwood

Location	Chichester, West Sussex
Owned by	Goodwood Estate
Screened on	Racing UK
Course type	Flat
Notable races	Stewards' Cup King George Stakes Goodwood Cup
Official website

Goodwood Racecourse Stand

Goodwood Racecourse View past main stand

The racecourse

Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting, which is one of the highlights of the British flat racing calendar, and is home to two of the UK's 31 Group One flat races, the Sussex Stakes and the Nassau Stakes.

In 1895

It is considered to enjoy a very attractive setting to the north of Trundle Iron Age hill fort, which is used as an informal grandstand with views of the whole course. One problem is that its proximity to the coast means that it can get very foggy.

This is an unusual, complex racecourse with a straight six furlongs — the "Stewards' Cup Course" — which is uphill for the first furlong and mostly downhill thereafter. There is a tight right-handed loop at the far end of the straight on which there are starts for various longer distance courses. These include the 1 mile 2 furlongs (1m 2f) "Craven Course", the 1m 4f "Gratwicke Course" and the 1m 6f "Bentinck Course". The start for the 2m 5f "Cup Course" is quite close to the winning post – horses travel outwards on the straight, around the loop and back. Throughout the loop there are severe undulations and sharp turns. The course is used for flat racing only.

From 1968 to 1970 the course's late summer meeting was shown on ITV, and from the early 2000s some races from the course occasionally appeared on Channel 4, but otherwise the course had been covered exclusively by the BBC for 50 years from 1956 (when it first appeared on television) to 2006. From 2007, the rights have passed to Channel 4 Racing.

In the late 18th century, Goodwood became the location for the first flag start on a British racecourse, at the behest of Lord George Bentinck, after a particularly shambolic start involving jockey Sam Arnull caused by an elderly deaf starter with a speech impediment.

Notable races

Month	DOW	Race Name	Type	Grade	Distance	Age/Sex
May	Saturday	Daisy Warwick Stakes	Flat	Listed	1m 4f	4yo + f
May	Thursday	Height of Fashion Stakes	Flat	Listed	1m 1f 192y	3yo only f
May	Friday	Cocked Hat Stakes	Flat	Listed	1m 3f	3yo only
July-August	Tuesday	Molecomb Stakes	Flat	Group 3	5f	2yo only
July-August	Tuesday	Lennox Stakes	Flat	Group 2	7f	3yo +
July-August	Wednesday	Vintage Stakes	Flat	Group 2	7f	2yo only
July-August	Wednesday	Gordon Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 4f	3yo only
July-August	Wednesday	Sussex Stakes	Flat	Group 1	1m	3yo +
July-August	Thursday	Richmond Stakes	Flat	Group 2	6f	2yo only
July-August	Thursday	Lillie Langtry Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 6f	3yo + f
July-August	Thursday	Goodwood Cup	Flat	Group 2	2m	3yo +
July-August	Friday	Oak Tree Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	3yo + f
July-August	Friday	King George Stakes	Flat	Group 2	5f	3yo +
July-August	Friday	Thoroughbred Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m	3yo only
July-August	Friday	Glorious Stakes	Flat	Group 3	1m 4f	4yo +
July-August	Saturday	Stewards' Cup (Great Britain)	Flat	Handicap	6f	3yo +
July-August	Saturday	Nassau Stakes	Flat	Group 1	1m 1f 192y	3yo + f
July-August	Saturday	Celebration Mile	Flat	Group 2	1m	3yo +
July-August	Saturday	Prestige Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	2yo only f
July-August	Saturday	March Stakes	Flat	Listed	1m 6f	3yo +
July-August	Sunday	Supreme Stakes	Flat	Group 3	7f	3yo +
September	Wednesday	Foundation Stakes	Flat	Listed	1m 1f 192y	3yo +
September	Tuesday	Stardom Stakes	Flat	Conditions	7f	2yo only

Other races

• Conqueror Stakes
• Festival Stakes
• On The House Stakes
• Starlit Stakes
• Tapster Stakes

External links

• Official website
• Course guide on GG.COM
• Course guide on At The Races
• Guide to Glorious Goodwood

See also

• Doctor Who at the BBC, a series of Doctor Who releases, which included an audio adventure entitled Glorious Goodwood, set at a Goodwood race, featuring Elisabeth Sladen and Jon Pertwee.