Equestrian
There has been racing at Lingfield Park since 1890, when it was opened by the then Prince of Wales, later to be Edward VII. It started off as a jumps course but, with the permission of the Jockey Club in 1894, it also staged flat racing. It’s proudly had this dual role ever since.
Neville Johnson went to the course to meet the two men in charge of its upkeep and to talk about its ‘third dimension’ and its uniqueness in British racing
Winning Treble
Company, also includes a Marriott hotel with spa facilities, which was opened in 2010, and an 18-hole 6487 yard parkland golf course, challenging and classy enough to stage a EuroPro golf event last year.
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All this very much overlaps the horse racing, and there are a wide variety of conferencing and entertainment packages on offer. The whole thing is an impressive integration aimed at
he 480-acre site in the southernmost corner of Surrey is more than just a racecourse. The Lingfield Park Resort, as it is styled by owners Arena Racing
Clerk of the Course at Lingfield Park, Neil Mackenzie Ross
encouraging visitors to Lingfield Park, not just on race days, but around the calendar. Presentation of surroundings is everything and plays a huge part in the marketing effort. Neil Mackenzie Ross, the Clerk of the Course, is a racing man through and through. He started his working life as a stable lad with the mucking out and all that goes with it. A spell in the bookmaking business followed and he got to be a Ladbrokes betting shop manager. Then, at twenty-five, he studied recreation management at university before going to work at the British Horse Racing Board - now called the British Horseracing Authority. When he came to Lingfield Park as Clerk in 2005, he had seen all sides of the racing industry at close hand. Lingfield Park is the only racecourse in the country that offers three forms of racing - traditional National Hunt chasing and hurdling, flat turf racing and all-weather flat racing. It can truly claim to be a unique attraction to racegoers, a winning treble if you like. It's a unique challenge to Neil too, and his Estates Manager and Head Groundsman Jon Harris. There is an extended seven-furlong turf straight course and a mile and a half turf round course, plus an all-weather track first installed in 1989, when there were necessary alterations to the turf course. The current round turf course dates from this time. Prior to that, it was a traditional turf course only with twenty meetings a year - a mix of National Hunt and flat. Since then, it has become a far busier racing venue. Last year, for example, there were eight meetings on consecutive days, a record in British
Lingfield Park’s Polytrack - consistent, fast and safe. Image ©Hoycubed Photography
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