When was Redcar Racecourse established?

The history of horse racing in and around Redcar can be traced back to the first half of the nineteenth century, when an annual meeting was held on the firm, flat sands of Coatham Beach, a mile or so to the north of the site of the present racecourse. Despite basic, temporary facilities and poor prize money, the annual meeting was well attended, not least because spectators could watch the action admission-free. Lack of gate money only became a problem when the Jockey Club decreed that all horse races must offer at least £50 in prize money, thereby rendering the meeting unviable, financially.

Consequently, a consortium led by John Hikeley, proprietor of the Lobster Inn, petitioned Arthur Henry Turner Newcomen, a member of one of the oldest families in the North Riding of Yorkshire, with a view to leasing land in the grounds of his family seat, Kirkleatham Hall, initially for a period of 21 years. Thus, the modern racecourse, which now occupies 72 acres, was created on Redcar Lane, in the heart of the Tees Valley town. The last meeting on Coatham Beach took place in 1870 and the first meeting on the new, inland course was staged in 1872, with admission to the grandstand enclosure costing a princely 6/-, or approximately £28 by modern standards, accounting for inflation.

Under the auspices of the Redcar and Coatham Company, the first permanent grandstand was erected in 1876. The racecourse was largely neglected in the first half of the twentieth century – l

due, in no small part, to closure during both world wars – but its fortunes revived under the newly-appointed Clerk of the Course, Major Leslie Petch, from 1946 onwards. With financial support from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB), a new grandstand, which still stands, was erected in 1964. Control of the racecourse subsequently passed to Lawrence Mark Dundas, Marquess of Zetland, in 1981, and to International Racecourse Management (IRM), run by John Sanderson, the nephew of Major Leslie Petch, in 1996.

When gambling doesn’t pay, why?

Who doesn’t want to make their gambling pay. It should be the aim of all gamblers, but is not. Most accept that gambling is a hobby or pastime. It may well be a costly endeavour where you just lose cash hand over fist. Have you ever questioned this acceptance? Have you assessed your horse racing selections over the last year and figured you’re halfway to losing your shirt? You need to think which changes will have a positive impact on your future goals of making your betting pay.

These 5 points will help focus the mind.

1) Stick To Skill Based Sports

What is your passion? The sport you not only love but know better than all your mates. It must be skill based, nothing to do with fixed odds such as casino games. It may be horse racing, football, greyhound – whatever. You need to live and breath your sport. You use analysis, dig up information which is unique to you. It’s surprising how often gamblers simply fool themselves they are working at a higher level when they aren’t. If you are doing what everyone else does, then you need to start again and dig a little deeper.

2) Know Your Niche

You simply cannot do everything. When I hear someone saying they bet on this, that and the other sport I’m thinking: ‘You know next to nothing!’ It sounds harsh but logically it is true. Why do you need to know everything? You need to know something well. That is the answer to the question. If you make your betting pay betting on football, horse racing, greyhounds, then stick with the one you know best. You need to focus. You need to have a niche. If you think doing a bit of everything is the answer to the question, you are simply wrong.

3) You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

It’s a quote you often here on the internet. I’m not keen on all these buzz words but in essence it’s true. Sometimes it simply pays to learn from others to help push you forward via their knowledge and experience. If not, you will need to stumble and fall at every problem. That learning curve is no bad thing, because, to some extent, you need to understand the problem and the resolution. The only downside with doing everything yourself is that it takes time, costs you money and may ultimately get to you so much you simply give up. It’s a fair comment that you should stop gambling if you keep losing money. Knowledge is paid for by cash and time.

4) Feeling Overwhelmed

If you try to learn everything fast, you are likely to feel overwhelmed. It’s hardly surprising. You need to break things down into manageable chunks. It’s a journey. You need to enjoy your niche because you have to take the long road unless you can take the quick route with help. I can’t get away from the fact how much you have to learn. There is no get quick rich scheme. The same with knowledge. There is no quick fix to learning that prized knowledge. You need to understand what you do with the knowledge. It isn’t as simple as learning the a,b,c. Don’t imagine you will be able to learn everything in a flash. A degree takes at least three years to learn for a reason. It’s the same with your chosen subject.

5) Skill Comes Before Money

I remember a couple of my school friends back in the day. They had the bright idea of thinking if they bet enough money betting odds on shot over the National Hunt they would be living the life of Riley. It would be an easy road to riches. Within in a year, they had lost their money and got a ‘normal’ job. Winning money at gambling isn’t about the cash. You cannot bet your way to riches without one crucial aspect.

Skill.

Skill comes before money. If you don’t get that fact into your mind, you will be betting and hoping rather than betting and winning. It’s a mistake so many punters make. You don’t need to be the best in the world, just better than most. If your betting doesn’t pay when betting small money then how can you win betting more? You need to make a complex amount of information simple. It needs to be replicable so you can measure your improvement. You need to appreciate you are on a journey of both learning and improvement. It takes time, passion & focus.

How many horses have won the Grand National more than once?

In 2019, Tiger Roll made history by becoming the first horse since Red Rum, in 1974, to win the Grand National two years running. Of course, Red Rum went on to complete an unprecedented hat-trick in the world famous steeplechase in 1977 but, before ‘Rummy’, as he was affectionately known, the last horse to win two consecutive Grand Nationals was Reynoldstown in 1936. Before that, Poethlyn won two consecutive renewals of the Grand National, but the first of them, in 1918, came in the so-called ‘War National’, run at Gatwick Racecourse.

Three other horses – Abd-El-Kader in 1850 and 1851, The Colonel in 1869 and 1870 and Manifesto in 1897 and 1899 – have won the Grand National more than once so, including Poethlyn, a total of seven horses have done so. A horse called The Duke won the first two renewals of the Grand Liverpool Steeplechase – the race which later became the Grand National – in 1836 and 1837, but the first ‘official’ running of the Grand National took place in 1839. Having won the 2023 Grand National, in the 2024 event Lucinder Russell’s Corach Rambler had the opportunity to join this much revered list, but jockey Derek Fox was unseated at the very first fence.

The winner was instead the Willie Mullins owned I Am Maximus, who himself has an opportunity to win the Grand National twice if he repeats his winning ways in 2025. He’s currently 10-1 favourite to win the race ahead of Intense Raffles at 14-1.

 

What are blinkers?

blinkersIn horse racing, blinkers refers to cowls, or cups – typically made from fabric, leather or plastic and attached to a garment that fits over the head – that are placed next to the eyes of a horse to restrict its field of vision. Blinkers come in several different varieties, ranging from so-called ‘cheaters’, which barely restrict any vision at all, to ‘full cup’ blinkers, which are highly restrictive.

Horses are naturally ‘prey’ animals and, as such, are blessed with a 275°, panoramic view of the world. They also have small blind spots, directly in front and directly behind, so the purpose of blinkers is allow forward vision, but to deny rear and, in some cases, side vision, all or in part. The application of blinkers forces horse to concentrate on forward vision, so that they are less likely to be distracted or upset by anything elsewhere in their natural field of vision.

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