Go Racing at Wolverhampton Racecourse

Wolverhampton racecourse, situated on the outskirts of the city at Dunstall Park, is an ideal venue for an afternoon or evening's all-weather horse racing.

Wolverhampton's Dunstall Park

Situated in the heart of England, Wolverhampton is now the busiest racecourse in the UK, currently staging approximately 90 race meetings every year. 

Bounded on one side by the Stafford and Worcester canal and on another by the main line railway from Shrewsbury, along with the Birmingham Canal, it may seem that Dunstall Park has little to recommend it, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The area boasts excellent transport links, being quite close to the M6 and M54 motorways. Located north of the city centre, the course is to be found just off the A449 dual carriageway, where there are numerous brown road signs giving final directions to the track.

As well as a racing venue, the site also houses a conference & exhibition centre, a panoramic restaurant and a hotel.

Racecourse History

There is a history of horse racing taking place at locations in Wolverhampton, going back as far as 1887. Dunstall Park racecourse was traditionally a mixed racing venue, providing both flat and National Hunt cards on turf, but this all changed in 1993 when the course underwent a complete redevelopment and was transformed into the first all-weather, floodlit track in Great Britain. The turf course remained in place however, but was only used sparingly with just a few jumping meetings each year.

Initially, a Fibresand track similar to that at Southwell racecourse was installed, but in 2004, this was replaced by a Polytrack surface, along with refurbishments to some of the other facilities. Since that time, the course has only staged all-weather, flat racing.

Racing Information

The course is left handed (anti-clockwise), oval shaped, approximately one mile in overall length with chutes for 6 and 7 furlong starts. It is the most similar in proportion of any of the British courses to tracks found in the United States. Nimble, handy types of horse seem to go well here and it is generally considered that there is no draw bias at Dunstall Park.

Leading UK trainers such as Sir Mark Prescott, Mark Johnston and Barry Hills often have runners here and are worth following. Top jockeys on the course are all-weather specialist Neil Callan and Jamie Spencer. It is also worth keeping an eye on Frankie Dettori whenever he visits the course as he has an impressive winner-to-runner strike ratio.

Wolverhampton Racecourse Trivia

Not only does it hold the distinction of being the first floodlit racecourse (now joined by Kempton Park), but Wolverhampton was also the first course in England to stage a Saturday evening meeting, back in 1962.

Sir Gordon Richards, often thought of as the world greatest jockey, originated from the local region and in his heyday, rarely used to miss a meeting at the track. In the period from the end of end of World War II, until his retirement in 1954, he was the leading rider at the course.

In reality, Wolverhampton Racecourse will never provide top quality, pattern racing, but if you are looking for an excellent afternoon or evenings sport, in comfortable surroundings with superb facilities, then Dunstall Park is very hard to beat.

Course Contact Details

Wolverhampton Racecourse, Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton WV6 0PE

Telephone 01902-421421

Website: www.wolverhampton-racecourse.co.uk/

A First Horse Racing Experience

My friend Chris wanted to go racing. He had never been before and had been asking me if he could come along for a while, so we set off bright and early one morning, en route to Lingfield Park.

Lovely, Leafy, Lingfield Park

Upon arrival I made my way to the nearest Tote window and set about filling out my Placepot bet. Chris wondered what I was doing, so I spent the next few minutes explaining to him how the bet worked and how to fill the slip out. He then started choosing a list of horses with names he liked and entered the numbers onto a ticket of his own.

The afternoon passed by and at the end of the last race, I saw him checking his ticket. “I think I’ve won!” he said, with a hopeful look on his face.

“Let me check!” I replied, taking his ticket and going through his selections one by one. He was right. The dividend was declared and Chris made his way to the Tote booth to collect his £210. I stood on the spot in a state of shock, not believing what I had just witnessed and bemoaning what I considered to be a grand slice of beginners luck.

A week later, the phone rang, it was Chris wanting to come racing again. We again decided to go to Lingfield and unbelievably the same thing happened. It was only £80 this time, but he had decided that this was his way to wealth and fortune. I tried to bring him back down to earth by explaining how lucky he had been, but he was utterly convinced of it and wouldn’t take any notice of me.

Our next trip was to Plumpton and this time I watched over his shoulder as he made his selections, copying them onto my slip. I had decided that if he was going to win then so was I. The first race came and our horse got in the frame, and the 2^nd, then the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th. It was beyond belief, he was doing it again!

Jumping a fence at Plumpton

Both of us were on the favourite in the last race and after jumping the penultimate fence, he was cruising about 5 lengths ahead of the field. Up to the last and by this time I was starting to dream of £ signs and planning how to spend my winnings. He took off and in what seemed liked slow-motion, promptly ploughed straight through the middle of the fence, depositing his jockey on the turf. The dream crashed to earth just as quickly as the horse had done.

Chris was crestfallen, as was I. 

He never asked to come racing again!

 Mike Godfrey - Article originally published on Triond.com (February 2010).

Tatty's Racing Thoughts - Wednesday 11th January 2012

Because of going to the football last night, today's nags to notice are a little late being posted.

Have a look at these, they make give some entertainment in running.

Doncaster

• 2.50 Arctic Actress
• 3.25 Azulada Bay

Ffos Las

• 3.35 Paradise Expected

Fairyhouse

• 3.10 Storm Breaker

Kempton

• 6.15 Meia Noite

Tatty's Racing Thoughts - Tuesday 10th January 2012

Well after Monday’s glorious Barley Curley winner Sommersturm, it’s now time again to search the weird and wonderful and see what snippets we can dig up for Tuesday’s entertainment. Again there are only 2 cards on the menu, this time both in the English East Midlands, at Leicester over the jumps and Southwell on the fibresand (flat).

When it comes to Leicester over the sticks, Nicky Henderson’s charges have an excellent record, as do Brendan Powell’s and Kim Bailey’s. The mare I like the look of is trained by the latter of the three and comes in the last race of the day at 3.40

Into the home straight at Leicester

Ruby Crown gives age away to all the rest, but at 10 years old she has lost none of her enthusiasm for the game and connections must be hopeful of another good run. On the downside however, she is currently at an official rating of 105 which is 3lbs higher than any of her lifetime wins, but all the others up against her are in the same boat as it were, so not a major concern. I think she can make the frame at least if not better.

At super Southwell, it’s Brian Ellison and Hughie Morrison’s horses I always have a look at before most of the others and both have a runner I like, running in different races.

Racing at Southwell - note the softness of the sand and the kickback created by the runners.

In the 5 runner, 2 mile handicap at 1.55 Brian Ellison’s Hada Men returns to the scene of his easy victory a week ago, this time with an extra 6lbs lumped on top. I can’t see this penalty making much difference and I confidently expect him to follow up, although I don’t think there will be a lot of value on offer from our bookmaking friends.

2 hours later at 3.55, Hughie Morrison’s sole entry on the card Bianca De Medici reverts back to 7 furlongs, which I would have thought is more suitable than the mile she tackled last time out when finding little in the latter stages. The fitting of blinkers a couple of runs ago seem to have helped her concentrate on the job in hand and I don't expect her to be far away from the front here.

• HADA MEN - Southwell 1.55
• RUBY CROWN – Leicester 3.40
• BIANCA DE MEDICI – Southwell 3.55

As ever, good luck with your punting!

Tatty's Racing Thoughts - Monday 9th January 2012

Racing action is a bit thin on the ground today with only meetings at Taunton over the sticks and Wolverhampton on the all-weather flat to get interested in.

On first glance there doesn’t seem to be a great deal going for Dancing Mist in the 3.40 at Taunton, but Victor Dartnall’s 9 year old certainly holds a modicum of ability and this may be his day. He returned to racing last month at Hereford after a long absence, gaining a very distant 3^rd, but the stable has a decent record at Taunton, especially over the larger obstacles.  

Taunton Racecourse Grandstand (taken in 2009)

Meanwhile at Wolverhampton, a trainer and gambler who doesn’t have many runners, especially here at Dunstall Park, is the enigma better known as Barney Curley. 

Not particularly in the best of health in the recent past, Barney has taken the bookmakers for a merry ride over the years with his shrewd investments in the ring and is known as one of the legendary faces of horse racing (not to be confused with Flash Harry from the original St Trinian's movies). 

I remember witnessing him earn a packet at the Western meeting at Ayr a few years back, watching on with awe at the relative ease he seemed to operate.

Barney Curley - or is it Flash Harry?

Whenever there is a Curley runner it is always worth keeping an eye on the market because if the price comes in, you can be assured the old devil is having an extra interest shall we say?.

His German bred 8 year old, Sommersturm runs in the 3.55 with Mickey Fenton taking the ride. On the face of it you would probably draw a line through its chances very swiftly, but he is tumbling in the weights and surely must find his level at some stage. It is also interesting that his speed figure ratings on previous visits to this course hold up very well against the rest of today’s field.

Will this be his day? Just ensure to keep an eye on firstly the market and secondly the illustrious Mr Curley.

Taunton 3.40: Dancing Mist - 3rd 5/2

Wolverhampton 3.55: Sommersturm - won 7/2
was trading at around 7-8/1 a few minutes before the off and a late plunge (I wonder where that came from) took it in to 7/2. 
He's a cunning old devil that Barney Curley.

As ever, good luck with your bets.

Tatty's Racing Tips - Friday 6th January 2012

3 all-weather cards to plough through this morning (well 2 as I generally ignore Dundalk) and not a great geal of quality around. The afternoon Lingfield meeting is pretty dire, as is the evening fare on offer at Wolverhampton, but what do we expect slap bang in the middle of jumping season.

The extended 5 furlong handicap at Wolverhampton (5.45) is possibly the best race of the day with 13 being declared. In a wide open contest, it could be argued that at least half of the field has a realistic chance of success. 

The three that stand out for me are Keith Dalgleish's Frequency, Geoffrey Oldroyd's Forever's Girl and Reg Hollinshead's Restless Bay. 

Reg Hollinshead

 Added to the mix is the Richard Fahey trained and Paul Hanagan ridden Alben Star who has been away from the track for a year and a half. He looked quite impressive back in 2010 when winning nicely at both Ayr and Musselburgh and any market move must be respected. His wide draw (and that of both Frequency and Restless Bay) point me in the direction of Forever's Girl, who holds the inside rail position. The booking of Dale Swift with a 3lb claim will also go some way to dispelling my fears that she is currently too high in the weights.

Today's nags to watch:

Lingfield Park

• 12.40 Hereford Boy - 2nd 7/2
• 2.50   Maslak - won 9/4
• 3.55   Rodrigo De Freitas - non runner

Wolverhampton

• 4.45 Drawnfromthepast- unplaced
• 5.15 Leyte Gulf - 2nd 12/1
• 5.45 Forever's Girl  - unplaced

Tatty's Racing Tips - Thursday 5th January 2012

After a period not even reading the Racing Post, I have returned today to picking a few nags for your entertainment. Remember it's the same deal as before, namely that these are not necessarily tips of winners, just a horse to keep an eye on in each race. If you bet on any of them, then you are a braver man (or woman) than I.

Wolverhampton

• 4.10 Villa Reigns- 2nd 9/4
• 4.40 Marcus Augustus - 2nd 4/5
• 5.10 Adrainian - won 7/2
• 5.40 Trend Line - unplaced
• 6.10 Wild Desert - unplaced
• 6.40 Harvest Mist- unplaced
• 7.10 Pilgrim Dancer - 3rd 9/4

Tatty's Racing News and Tips - Monday 26th December 2011

I hope you all had a happy and peaceful Christmas and are enjoying your Boxing Day (or St Stephen's Day if that is what you call it in your location).

Here follows a few seasonal nags to keep an eye on.

Wolverhampton

• 1.15  Look At Me Now
• 1.50  Mr Red Clubs
• 2.25  One Way Or Another
• 2.55  Snow Dancer
• 3.30  Woop Woop

and the Channel 4 TV races

Kempton Park

• 1.25  Papa Caruso
• 2.00  Grands Crus
• 2.35  Overturn
• 3.10  Kauto Star

Wetherby

• 1.45  Midnight Chase

Tatty's Racing News and Tips - Sunday 18th December 2011

Before we go any further, The mighty Biggleswade United came up with a super performance, gaining an excellent 2-1 success against a very impressive Berkhamsted outfit yesterday. 

In front of 51 people (Mrs Tatty and yours truly being 2 of which), two Stuart Richardson goals (the 1st being as good a goal as you would see in the Premier League), brought the points to Second Meadow. Next up is AFC Dunstable on the 27th, when sadly I will not be able to attend.

As for the old nags, a 9/1 winner was welcome yesterday - today it's back to Kempton Park for a pretty desperate looking pre-Christmas card (sorry about the pun).

• 1.40  Kai Mook - unplaced
• 2.10  Focail Maith - non runner
• 2.45  Lutine Charlie - unplaced
• 3.15  Intomist - 2nd 100/30
• 3.45  Oratorian - unplaced
• 4.15  Land Hawk - 3rd DH 9/2
• 4.45  White Shift - unplaced
• 5.15  Fault - unplaced

Just one last note, I got up during the night to watch the final of the Super Six between Brit Carl "The Cobra" Froch and American Andre Ward. Hoping for a British win, I could only be impressed with the American who won a unanimous points victory. 

Andre Ward - superstar in waiting?

I get the impression that the man from Oakland is a superstar in the making, but what now for Froch? After the fight he seemed to think that given the right circumstances, he could beat Ward. To be honest, he was totally out of his depth and, if they met again, I think the American would win in an easier fashion.

Tomorrow (Monday) is Tatty's birthday and to celebrate this monumental occasion, I am going to give you all a rest from my hopeless horse selections and have a day off.

And on further thought, I have decided to take a Christmas break. 

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Thoughts on Sport and Tatty's Tips - Saturday 17th December 2011

A strange day yesterday, albeit profitable if backing each-way or place only (but remember, these are horses only to watch. I'm not proposing anyone investing their life savings on them). The highlight (for me anyway) was Canadian Danehill coming 3rd at odds of 28/1 in the 5 furlong handicap at Wolves. In a 10 runner race where the winner went off at 18's, it says very little for the rest of them.

Lingfield today - I've had a few problems at the leafy one of late, so let's try to find a couple that may spark the odd glimmer of something.

• 12.20  I'm Still The Man - unplaced
• 12.50  Not Bad For A Boy - won 9/1
• 1.20    Roman Flame- unplaced
• 1.50    Elna Bright - unplaced
• 2.20    Circumvent - unplaced
• 2.55    Trend Line - unplaced
• 3.30    Picansort - 2nd 3/1

The mighty Biggleswade United return home to Second Meadow today after an excellent away win last Saturday. Today's opponents are Berkhamsted, who currently lie up in 7th place in the table. It won't be easy, but we are playing decent football at present so fingers (and toes) crossed.

Come on United

Thoughts on Sport and Tatty's Tips - Friday 16th December 2011

I fell out of the pit this morning to see a dusting of snow on the ground that had fallen overnight. This, in theory shouldn't affect the racing we are interested in today - it is all-weather racing when all said and done and all-weather means just that, doesn't it?

Strangely this is not always the case. Even if the course is raceable, it doesn't mean that the facilities on course are accessible and meetings have in the past been cancelled for this reason. There is also the logistical problem of getting the horses to the course. If there has been a deluge of snow in Newmarket say, trying to get the horses to Kempton Park may be difficult, even if the Sunbury area is clear. The fibresand surface at Southwell often doesn't hold up to extreme low temperatures and because of its softer texture than polytrack, will actually freeze. 

A snowy paddock at Kempton Park

So maybe the time has come to change the name to sand or even artificial track racing, to get away from the myth that all-weather really means in all conditions.

To be honest, I wouldn't be too upset to see a temporary halt in racing, considering the bad run of form I seem to be on at the moment. I try to pick horses to watch and the only place most of them seem to be currently is at the rear of the field.

Anyway, onwards and upwards - Southwell, Wolverhampton and Dundalk today (and we all know, I don't deal in Dundalk, unless I absolutely have to).

Southwell

• 11.55  Stevie Gee 2nd 8/1
• 12.25  Really Lovely - won 6/4
• 1.00    Wicked Wench - 2nd 11/4
• 1.35    Conducting - unplaced
• 2.10    Ishiamiracle - 2nd 9/2
• 2.45    Seamster - won 4/1
• 3.20    St Oswald - 2nd 11/8

Wolverhampton

• 3.50    Lady Lyricist - unplaced
• 4.20    Like The Night - 2nd 7/2
• 4.50    Canadian Danehill - 3rd 28/1
• 5.20    Flying Trader - won 13/8
• 5.50    It's Dubai Dolly - unplaced
• 6.20    Barton Bounty - unplaced
• 6.50    Kames Park - unplaced

Thoughts on Sport and Tatty's Tips - Wednesday 14th December 2011

A bit late, but here goes for Lingfield Park

• 12.30 Cloudy Start - unplaced
• 1.00   Silver Marizah - unplaced
• 1.35   Bronze Angel - non runner
• 2.10   Uphold - non runner
• 2.40   Super Frank - 2nd 12/1
• 3.15   Kames Park - won 6/1

And later on at Kempton. 

• 3.50   Finalist - unplaced
• 4.20   Hooligan Sean - 2nd 15/8
• 4.50   California English - won 11/8
• 5.20   Compton Target - unplaced
• 5.50   Quinsman - unplaced
• 6.20   Polar Auroras - 3rd 5/1
• 6.50   Whoateallthepius - unplaced

Good luck, I think we are gonna need it with this lot.

Thoughts on Sport and Tatty's Tips - Tuesday 12th December 2011

Yesterday proved to be quite profitable helped out for 4 winners on the bounce - a rare occurrance, albeit a very welcome one.

The Tatling managed to perform to the script and won his last race with an amazing late run, piloted quite brilliantly by jockey Richard Kingscote. He went off at odds of 16/1, having been 12's in the morning and 20/1 plus about an hour before going to post. In the 4.15 Admirable Duque won at 11/2 but had you invested early morning, 12/1 was available.

It's back on the Fibresand at Southwell today for a low grade 7 race card, which again throws up nothing better than Class 5 and 6 events. Below are a few that may spark some interest.....

12.30 Allegri - unplaced

1.00   Hits Only Jude - 2nd 11/4

1.30   Dickie Le Davoir - unplaced

2.00   Dazakhee - unplaced

2.30   Six Wives -won 7/2

3.00   My Best Man - 3rd 8/1

3.30   Elusive Warrior - non runner

Thoughts on Sport and Tatty's Tips - Monday 11th December 2011

A couple of winners along with an 8/1 place gave us a reasonable Sunday afternoon at Southwell.

It’s quite obvious that today is a Monday by looking at the racing cards on offer for the day. There are only 2 meetings – a National Hunt card at Fakenham, along with an 8 race all-weather offering from Wolverhampton, which can best be described as pretty dismal.

A view of the finishing straight at Fakenham Racecourse

As I mentioned last Friday, the 3.45 race will be the last for the almost legendary The Tatling, before his retirement from racing. I am not only suggesting him as the horse to watch in this race for sentimental reasons, but also the fact that I believe he is capable of running well and could get into the frame. I truly hope so anyway. 

UPDATE: THE TATLING WINS AT 16/1
 CLICK TO WATCH RACE FOOTAGE

Wolverhampton

2.15        Kidlat - unplaced

2.45        Make Up - unplaced

3.15        Jwala - won 9/4

3.45        The Tatling - won 16/1

4.15        Admirable Duque - won 11/2

4.45        Perfect Mission - won 2/5

5.15        Deslaya - 2nd 7/2

5.45        Yellow Printer - unplaced

Further to Amir Khan's defeat in his title fight against Lamont Peterson, the English former light-welterweight world champion has stated that he believes that Washington DC is bad for boxing and he will never fight there again. He claims that his people are in negotiations for a re-match, to be held at a neutral venue. 

Amir Khan in action

Just  a suggestion Amir, rather than looking for mega fame and fortune over the seas, why not return to your English roots and fight back here in the UK again in front of your biggest fans?