How many race tracks have you been to:

Right, here goes...


RULES

All 61 EXCEPT FOR Bath, Beverley, Brighton, Chester, Epsom, Great Leighs, Hamilton, Musselburgh, Newcastle, Newmarket Rowley, Nottingham, Salisbury, Yarmouth.

Windsor has been visited as both a Flat and jumps venue, Wolverhampton as jumps only.


POINT-TO-POINTS

This list is currently growing at a faster rate than the Rules one and will be hopelessly out of date come the spring, but as things stand the ones I have been to comprise;

Alpraham (now defunct)
Ampton
Andoversford
Ashorne (now defunct)
Badbury Rings
Bangor PTP
Barbury Racecourse
Black Forest Lodge
Bonvilston
Brafield-on-the-Green
Catsfield
Chaddesley Corbett
Charing
Charm Park
Chipley Park
Clifton-on-Dunsmore
Cold Harbour
Cottenham
Dalton Park
Didmarton
Dingley
Dunthrop
Easingwold
Eaton Hall (now defunct)
Flagg Moor
Garnons
Garthorpe
Godstone
Guilsborough
Hackwood Park
Heslaker
Hexham PTP
Higham
High Easter
Horseheath
Hutton Rudby
Kimble
Kingston Blount
Laleston
Larkhill
Lower Machen
Marks Tey
Milborne St Andrew
North Carlton
Peper Harow
Sheriff Hutton
Siddington
Ston Easton
Tabley
Thorpe Lodge
Umberleigh
Upper Sapey
Wadebridge
Welbeck
Whitfield
Whittington
Witton Castle
Ystradowen.

Four more Pointing visits are programmed in for January, but the only new course for me among those will be Friars Haugh. Plenty more to follow after that, though.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)
 
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How many pointing venues are there in the UK? I never heard of most of those on your list, Jeremy
 
There are (by my maths) 115 that are classed as active at present, Grey, ranging in the number of fixtures they put on from one to seven. The remainder are:


ALDINGTON
ALNWICK
ASPATRIA
BALCORMO MAINS
BISHOPS COURT
BITTERLEY
BRAMPTON BRYAN
BRATTON DOWN
BREDWARDINE
BROCKLESBY PARK
BUCKFASTLEIGH
CHARLTON HORETHORNE
CHERRYBROOK
CILWENDEG
CORBRIDGE
COTHELSTONE
COTLEY FARM
DALSTON
DETLING
DUNCOMBE PARK
EYTON-ON-SEVERN
FAKENHAM ptp
FLETE PARK
FRIARS HAUGH
GREAT TRETHEW
HOLNICOTE
HORNBY CASTLE
HOWICK
IDEFORD ARCH
KILWORTHY
KINGSTON ST MARY
LITTLEWINDSOR
LLANFRYNACH
LLANVAPLEY
LOCKINGE
LYDSTEP
MAISEMORE PARK
MOLLINGTON
MORDON
MOSSHOUSES
NORTHAW
OVERTON
PARHAM
PAXFORD
PENSHURST
PENTRECLWYDAU
SANDON
STAFFORD CROSS
TRANWELL
TREBOROUGH HILL
TREBUDANNON
TRECOED
TWESELDOWN
UPCOTT CROSS
UPTON-ON-SEVERN
VAUTERHILL
WHITCLIFFE GRANGE
WHITWELL-ON-THE-HILL
WHITWICK MANOR
WOODFORD


In addition to those that I've attended before they became defunct (all having done so since 2005), you could add to the list the Welsh mountainside course at Erw Lon, which last saw use in 2010 before complications arising from the incumbent landowner's death saw it fall out of use. It may well be back in 2012-3 from what I've heard, however.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)
 
I'm bound to say I've got a soft spot for Hackwood Park, as for all its limitations it's an incalculably friendly place and my working relationship with the good folk there has been the strongest of any I've ever forged at a Pointing venue. Such a shame I'm going to struggle to get to either meeting there in 2012.

From the point of view of which course one would take a Pointing newbie to, though, I absolutely cannot look beyond Dingley. Competitive sport, decent fields right to the end of the season (being set in a river valley with its own watering system is a real asset), better facilities than most, and above all absolutely outstanding viewing from the vast natural grandstand. Even if your guests or accompanying sprogs have the audacity not to be enchanted by the racing action, the trade stalls and bouncy castles are plentiful enough to offer alternative sources of amusement.

I also very much like Catsfield, Guilsborough, Horseheath, Lower Machen, Welbeck, Whitfield, Whittington and the uniquely dramatic Flagg Moor (stone wall races and all), but there's still not a single one I've yet visited that I've actively hated.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)
 
Is there any point to points in central Scotland? I lived there for years and went racing all the time but never ever heard of a point to point meeting. I assume there's more than a few in the Hawick area but Glasgow, Wishaw, Hamilton, Motherwell ?
 
There are four courses in Scotland Tanlic:

Friars Haugh (West of Kelso)
Overton (SW of Carluke)
Mosshouses (NE of Galashiels)
Balcormo Mains (N of Leven)

Yet to go to any of those but they normally stage good competitive racing and there's plenty of decent trainers in the area :)
 
I think Overton would be the nearest to the part of Scotland you've mentioned, Mr Fist. This has only been in operation since 2004 but is a very well-regarded track (run by permit-holder Willie Young) which has brought some much-needed stability of location for a handful of local hunts.

The Eglinton and the Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire hold a joint meeting there nowadays. Various combinations of all or some of those hunts had endured a nomadic existence in the 15 years prior to that, taking in Bogside (former Scottish National venue, fences and turf still intact but infrastructure in rapid decline), Ayr NH (fully tooled up with facilities but basically charmless) and Lanark (former Flat venue, popular with owners but possessing "all the atmosphere of a morgue" according to the Annual, and a genuine risk to health with concrete posts around the racetrack and dog-mess everywhere).

The Dumfriesshire and Stewartry also use Overton nowadays, having finally lost patience with the very beautiful but frequently underwater Netherby Park line. The latter had previously been expected to serve a long tenure as the replacement for Lockerbie, by all accounts an outstanding course but one lost to Pointing at the turn of the century after around eight decades' use.

Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)
 
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PS I'm off to Friars Haugh a fortnight on Sunday, so I'll let you know what it's like. Video evidence suggests it's not dissimilar to Kelso (a course barely two miles away on the other side of town), only with a more stunning backdrop of buildings and rivers - loose horses can end up paddling in the River Tweed if they're not careful!

gc
 
If you're familiar with the big car boot sale that takes place in or around Overton farm many times each year, it's on the same site as that. The Pointing crowds are as big as the boot sales are at their biggest, and Willie and his helpers seem to cope with both pretty well, from what I've been told.

gc
 
I've been to Overton Farm shop a few times (and promptly walked back out again after seeing the outrageous prices they were charging). I assumed the course would be at the back of this, but apparently not - it's further down the road and I really can't recall any distinguishing features about it.

I will be down there tomorrow and shall have to remember to keep an eye open for it.
 
I hope to add Gowran to my list tomorrow. I have to go to Waterford in the morning and should be finished in time to call into Gowran on the way home.

The card looks quite decent too.
 
I was on holiday in Co Clare over Easter and went to the ptp meeting at Quakerstown on Easter Sunday.

On the way into the course I was asked for a lift by a local man who introduced himself as Christy Lee, the trainer of Galway Hurdle winner Lesabelle in 1973, at a huge price. He told me they get some good horses running at Quakerstown and that the track is on land belonging to his family. Champagne Fever made his public debut there two years ago in the 4yo Maiden. He also mentioned that his son Norman had a horse called Rebel Cry running in the Winners Of One that would be hard to beat if coping with the drying ground.

There was a nice enough looking field in this year's 4yo maiden. Behemoth and Derek O'Connor won for Gigginstown after appearing to be in control all the way in a cagey race where they didn't start going for it until after the second last. Derek O'Connor went on to win the next two races as well.

My enthusiasm was already starting to wane, though, because I have seldom been as cold. The course is on higher ground sitting above a plain from which a strong north east wind was pouring in, and there was no escaping it. I decided to hang on to see how Rebel Cry got on in the next race and leave straight after. He is a light enough horse but he jumps very well, and it kept him in contention all the way round. Unfortunately the only error he made was at the last, and it probably cost him more than the length he was beaten by.

Within seconds of the race being over I was in the car turning the heat up to the max and heading back to base.
 
Off to Fontwell for the first time on Thursday - and finally booked the tickets for Bath at the end of May for their Real Ale Festival evening.
 
UK:
Wolverhampton
Lingfield
Sandown
York
Chester
Goodwood
Cheltenham
Doncaster
Pontefract
Newmarket - Rowley Mile

Ireland:
Curragh
L'town
Fairyhouse
Navan
Down Royal
Galway
Sligo
Roscommon
Limerick
Tramore
Naas
Punchestown
Clonmel
Gowran Park
Ballinrobe

France:
Longchamp

Forgot about this, 2 additions in last year - Newmarket and Ballinrobe
 
Huntingdon was my new track this year and very fine it was too. I've been to about half the tracks in the uk now and there are only a handful that I still wish to see.

Fontwell is definitely one. Let me know what you think ballydoyle but never heard a bad word
 
Diamond Geezer said:
On a crusade to do them all, done 47 so far in UK

Just 12 left to do namely

Hamilton, Kelso, Ayr, Redcar, Cartmel, Thirsk, Beverley, Pontefract, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Lingfield, Epsom

and have done 14 in Ireland, ones left to do are

Downpatrick, Sligo, Ballinrobe,Roscommon, Bellewstown, Galway, Kilbeggan,
Leopardstown, Listowel, Wexford, Killarney and Tramore

Have done Longchamp and Chantilly in France
Click to expand...

Afraid ill health has meant not struck any more off the list yet, missed out on group trips to Kelso, Beverley,Wexford and Galway last year, but hopefully will get to some of them in time.
 
I've been to:

Hamilton (my local track)
Ayr
Musselburgh
Perth
Kelso

Carlisle (for Cheltenham preview night, not for racing)
Haydock
Ascot
Cheltenham
Newbury

Longchamp
Chantilly
Auteuil
Enghien
Le Bouscat (Bordeaux)

Think that's about it.
 
Ascot
Newmarket
Kempton
Sandown
Wolverhampton
Southwell
Warwick
Salisbury
Towcester
Leicester
Lingfield
Stratford
Huntingdon
Aintree
Doncaster
 
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I can add the following:
Catsfield
Charing
Fontwell
Worcester
Navan
Tattersalls Farm
Compiegne

Only "Paris" tracks I've yet to do are Vincennes, Chantilly and Fontainebleau.

Martin
 
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