Cartmel Racecourse

Racecourse number: 4

First visited: 1986
Number of visits: 12

Cartmel racecourse describes itself as a most unusual racecourse in a truly unique location. I don’t disagree but in some ways this description does not do justice to the wonder of the place. As a teenager, Cartmel was my favourite racecourse, perhaps even my favourite place full stop! 

Even arriving at Cartmel is something of a special yet unusual experience. The closer you get to it the more rural your surroundings become. To enter the course enclosure you approach via a tree-lined path through a scenic forest. A beautiful setting where honestly Hansel & Gretel would not look out of place! Queueing in this area when I was younger only added to the anticipation of getting there. On arrival, there would be no wicked witch but certainly a place straight out of a fairy tale! Now I already loved horseracing but imagine a racing setting that also combined the tranquillity of Center Parcs, the excitement of Blackpool Pleasure Beach and also hosted a traditional market. For our 1980s family unit this meant something for everyone. Throw in the six or seven horse races on a track that surrounds and bisects this fantastic set up and you are at Cartmel racecourse for an amazing day out. 

This national hunt fun takes place inside a sharp left-handed oval circuit, which uniquely has a run in that bisects the centre of the track. The stone walls surrounding the track also give it a very unusual, yet brilliant backdrop. The course is also famous for having the longest run in over fences, around half a mile. In truth, viewing is probably the worst on offer in Great Britain. There is only a small stand adjacent to the run in and even then trees, small hills or fairground rides, obscure a lot of the action. Somehow, though this is a wonderful novelty, with mere glimpses of action adding to the spectacle, rather than detracting from it. Given that the entire crowd are inside the track, there is a great opportunity to get very close to the racing action next to the inner rail. My favourite place to watch during my early visits was down at the final hurdle. You would see the runners emerge from the back straight, charging towards the last. After jumping it they would take a sharp left hand turn heading slightly uphill and out of view with a furlong or so to the winning line. Brilliant. 

One additional thing that sets Cartmel apart from many racecourses is the limited number of fixtures it has. In practice this meant visits were less frequent and thus felt somewhat exclusive. You could race on a Saturday on several weekends a year at Haydock Park but only two at Cartmel. I always found it hard to understand why. In the 1980’s and 1990’s Cartmel had only five fixtures a year set in two periods, the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend in May and the August Bank Holiday. Going back further in history, until 1947 racing was held only annually on the Whitsun Monday. Over time as the popularity of the course has progressed the fixture list has expanded. Moreover, in recent years there have been notable structural improvements and an increasing professionalism about the place that indicates good management. Cartmel now has nine annual fixtures but this still feels quite limited compared to other courses and given the wonderful set up it has. 

Based south of the Lake District, Cartmel is not too far from my home here in Lancashire. It takes around an hour and a quarter by car. As such, I have managed to be a fairly regular visitor since the 1980s, despite the limited number of meetings. It was the fourth racecourse I attended and the initial visits were very much based around family fun days out. Several fantastic features combined in one brilliant day. Like many families, we often brought a picnic to enjoy, which you are still encouraged to do today. As long as you got there early enough you could park inside the track and use your car as a base, or as a refuge from inclement weather! For some reason it seems to rain a lot at Cartmel! I loved the slot machines, the prize stalls, the rides, the market but most of all the racing. 

In the early 1990s, I attended the May Wednesday meeting alone, travelling by train and taxi. Following a good days punting I shared a taxi back to the station with two random racegoers who became convinced I was a professional backer. I was very happy with their inaccurate conclusion. In 1995, I attended the August bank holiday Saturday meeting with my future wife Claire. This young couple had travelled up by train and stayed in a local B&B. The meeting, which had only a small number of runners due to the firm going, featured some great northern jockeys from that era. In action that day were Peter Niven, Tony Dobbin, Richard Guest, Brian Storey and Kenny Johnson. I believe all of these jockeys went on to be trainers. It is hard to give up this fantastic racing bug. One horse I remember backing that day was Nishvamitra, trained by Chris Thornton and ridden by David Wilkinson. Against only two opponents, this grey could only manage a distant second place. Fast forward to August 2008 and the two of us returned, this time with two young children in tow and an ownership interest in novice hurdler Smarties Party trained by Chris Thornton. My Mum and Dad also attended that day.

Despite attending as a part owner, I received a less than warm welcome when I arrived. I was quizzed, despite my name being on the owners list, before begrudgingly being granted a couple of owner’s badges. Partly my fault as I was dressed more for the weather than the occasion. To be fair though as good as Cartmel is it is not Goodwood! Ironically, soon afterwards I witnessed two trainers bemoaning the fact that some of their owners were cutting back on their racing interests owing to the growing economic crisis at that time. Owners are so important to the success of racing, yet do not always get looked after on course. The weather was also less than welcoming with regular showery outbursts dampening the occasion. This would benefit Smarties Party though who ran a promising and solid race finishing third. I remember watching the kids enjoy the funfair rides that day, despite the weather. I also took my daughter Rachel to the highest vantage point on the course, the owners viewing area, to cheer on a horse called Moon Melody I had backed in the selling hurdle. My selection came out on top after a thrilling finish to the race.

My most recent visit was with my Dad in 2015 when the accompanying photos were taken. This was one of the additional new fixtures in July. Typically, the good weather abated as we arrived and we experienced a showery afternoon. However, an early success for my nap of the day Slipper Satin, enterprisingly ridden by Henry Brooke, set a good punting tone for the day. It would be an enjoyable and successful afternoon for both of us. It was also a day I greatly reflected on my many previous visits to this wonderful racecourse. It got me thinking about Cartmel itself and todays changing racing customer base. Certainly, the setup there has been less tarnished by the growing drinking and corporate culture that has impacted so negatively on other courses. Yes, drinking is more prevalent and there are plenty of marquees hosting corporate guests, but the original core is still there. The fairground, the rural setting, the quirky racing circuit, the picnickers and families remain. The Cartmel I loved as a teenager largely continues with a growing fixture list and a place at the very heart of what makes British horseracing diverse and thus so special.