History
Racing in Beverley can be documented as far back as over 300 years ago, and the founding of The Jockey Club in 1752 really formalised its presence in the town. With the founding of The Jockey Club, the occasional racing at nearby Westwood Pasture was recognised, and Beverley Racecourse was founded. An annual meeting at Beverley was first established in 1767.[2] Before that races had only occasionally been run there. Then, for a short period between 1798 and 1805 racing once again stopped. Later in the 19th century a three-day meeting was taking place annually in the week after York's May meeting.
Between 1915 and November 1920, the racecourse was commandeered by the Royal Flying Corps (the Royal Air Force from April 1918) as a base for fighter aircraft and training during World War I.[6][7] In 2026, Beverley is scheduled to host racing on 19 days[8], its most prestigious races being two Listed contests - the Charlie Wood Stakes over one mile and four furlongs in July and Beverley Bullet Sprint over five furlongs in August.
The racecourse is a right-handed flat course, that is just over one mile and three furlongs. It is predominantly flat but with a stiff, uphill finish and tight turns. Beverley has the most pronounced 'draw bias' on a UK racecourse on its five-furlong course. The sharp right-hand bend and the fact that the ground runs away to the left make a low draw (i.e. on the inside rail) much more advantageous than a high draw (i.e. on the wide outside and on ground sloping right to left).[11]
The first grandstand was commissioned for the racecourse on 22 May 1767 at a cost of £1,000.[12] A £90,000 stand was opened in Tattersalls enclosure in 1968.
In August 2018, it was announced that planning permission was being sought for a £4.8 million grandstand to replace the existing 1960s structure, with an expected completion of April 2021.[13] Instead, the racecourse management shifted their strategy from a complete demolition and rebuild to a more conservative, multi-phase refurbishment.[14][15]
