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Motorsport at horse racing tracks?


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#101 HistoricMustang

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Posted 27 January 2010 - 11:09

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Henry :wave:

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#102 HistoricMustang

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Posted 27 January 2010 - 11:14

And, a few years later not to far from the Dan Bowles Horse Track was the Wagner Polo Field and Horse Track.

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There was at least one more in Augusta called Lakeside which presented horses and then automobile racing around 1910. Ninety percent sure where it was located but trying to make sure before posting.

Henry

#103 Lee Nicolle

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Posted 27 January 2010 - 11:29

Another one is the Wayville Showgrounds in Adelaide which was used for a long time as a Trotting Track and has also been used at times over a lot of years as a speedway.
The Adelaide GP was ofcourse partially situated at Victoria Pk racecourse in the Adelaide parklands.

#104 Graham Clayton

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Posted 14 May 2013 - 12:37

A press clipping from the Calgary Daily Herald, dated 7 July 1919, giving details of the car races at the Calgary Exhibition Grounds:

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Source: http://calgarypublic...9-exhib.jpg.jpg

#105 D-Type

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Posted 14 May 2013 - 15:12

I think I've posted this before:

In Nairobi, the horse racing used to take place on a racecourse somewhere near Racecourse Road. I don't know if the course was dirt or turf. Then the horse racing moved to a new racecourse on the Ngong Road, called unsurprisingly the Ngong Racecourse, in the early 1950s. The old racecourse was used a couple of times for motor races in the early 1950's. The dirt track was an oval with a loop into the middle with a hairpin bend. I don't remember much about the one meeting I attended as I was only six years old. There's a map here. Looking on Google maps the whole area has been built over and no traces remain.

#106 delboy59

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Posted 15 May 2013 - 10:32

Hi

Chester racecourse has been used as a parc ferme for the RAC Rally of GB but I think the place the original questioner refers to is Aintree Racecourse in north Liverpool.

In 2007 (I think it was) Aintree Circuit Club ran a 3-day meeting there which was all cars on day one followed by two days with cars in the morning and horses in the afternoons. I was Chief Paddock Marshal for the cars and was fortunate enough to have a ride in a D-type Jaguar with Tony Brooks at the helm as the car part of the meeting to an end on the Sunday lunchtime...awesome!

:cat:

D

#107 wolseley680

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Posted 15 May 2013 - 12:26

I've been to the Melbourne Showgrounds trotting track to see Speedway bikes.

#108 Barttore

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Posted 15 May 2013 - 16:22

On September 16, 1934, there was an gymkhana and a race, on the 750 m. horse track at Castle Hillenraad in Swalmen in the Netherlands. It was a one off. The track was abandoned in 1936: the location is a forest now.

A year before they also raced something else...

Posted Image :rotfl:

Edited by Barttore, 15 May 2013 - 16:23.


#109 MCS

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Posted 15 May 2013 - 18:55

The late Pete Fenelon (God rest his soul) posted some wonderful images of Aintree on his website once upon a time. I have tried in vain to find them but can't for some reason.

Maybe David Beard and Alan Cox would be able to advise or comment?

I can remember the name of the site as being part of a lyric of a Half Man Half Biscuit song. But have Pete's pictures gone? He wasn't just a computer genius, great book reviewer and blogger - he took some very decent pictures.

#110 TerryS

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 00:03

The first Australian Grand Prix in 1927 was held at Goulburn (NSW) horse racing track.

#111 Stephen W

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 08:19

Aintree continues to hold motor sport events and on Saturday 22nd April the first of the three scheduled sprints took place.

 

Another to add to the list is Haydock Park racecourse which has also held 'motor sport' events mainly rally stages/tests. I also believe that Exeter racecourse has held rally tests in the past.



#112 chunder27

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 09:57

There are plenty of trotting tracks in the UK and USA and elsewhere that have once or twice hosted oval race meetings.

 

But they cut the track up too much obviously, and you can't bet on it much so it never lasts.



#113 BRG

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 10:20

Another to add to the list is Haydock Park racecourse which has also held 'motor sport' events mainly rally stages/tests. I also believe that Exeter racecourse has held rally tests in the past.

In that case, add Cheltenham, which hosted Rally GB for several years, and Chepstow which has been used by rallies.



#114 Tim Murray

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 10:35

FWIW my motor club used to run autosolos in the car park at Chepstow racecourse.

#115 alansart

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 14:54

Coming from the opposite direction, Oulton Park was used for Equestrian Events in the 80's.

 

It was almost Royal:


Edited by alansart, 26 April 2017 - 15:00.


#116 Dick Dastardly

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 15:35

Aintree has hosted Rallycross, maybe just the once, in 1981/82......

1984, there was a stage on the RAC Rally one evening that used both sides of Melling Road.....


Edited by Dick Dastardly, 26 April 2017 - 15:38.


#117 Lee Nicolle

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 17:18

Tailem Bend, South Oz. same happened at the former Tailem Bend race course.the entrants used the horse stalls as pit area and the grand stand was quite grand!

Far better than many so called established tracks.


Edited by Lee Nicolle, 27 April 2017 - 19:33.


#118 D28

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Posted 26 April 2017 - 23:01

Roosevelt Raceway in Long Island New York was built in 1936 for auto racing, specifically the revised Vanderbilt Cup races. Prize money was attractive enough to lure top teams from Europe and America's best  oval racers. Nuvolari and Rosemeyer won but the race didn't catch on with the public and was abandoned after 2 attempts. The track was converted to horse harness racing and operated for many tears.1940-88. One example of a track featuring auto racing before horse racing.



#119 Stephen W

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Posted 27 April 2017 - 08:42

Aintree has hosted Rallycross, maybe just the once, in 1981/82......

1984, there was a stage on the RAC Rally one evening that used both sides of Melling Road.....

 

Aintree has also held Multi-stage Single Venue Rallies as well as motor racing, sprinting, historic rally tests, motorcycle racing and a race over the Grand National jumps between a horse and a car.



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#120 wolf sun

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Posted 27 April 2017 - 10:40

Surely Parc Borély in Marseille deserves a mention here - forum member Ozpata has created stunning track maps of the circuit in its various incarnations.



#121 RS2000

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Posted 27 April 2017 - 18:47

Aintree has hosted Rallycross, maybe just the once, in 1981/82......
1984, there was a stage on the RAC Rally one evening that used both sides of Melling Road.....


"Evening" was a crucial factor. It was daylight when we moved up to the stage start, not having fitted the auxiliary lights and going to fit them afterwards. There was a long delay and we ended up doing the stage in full darkness. In the wide open spaces, I therefore haven't a clue where it went, Melling or Toxteth or anywhere else.

#122 BRG

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Posted 27 April 2017 - 18:51

... and a race over the Grand National jumps between a horse and a car.

How was that done?  I have tried jumping a hedge in a car and it really wasn't a success.



#123 Tim Murray

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Posted 27 April 2017 - 19:22

ISTR that Paul Perkin leaped his Peugeot 205 right over one of the National fences after losing it on an Aintree sprint around ten years ago. I don't think he got any further round the horse course, though.

#124 Stephen W

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Posted 28 April 2017 - 07:34

Aintree has also held Multi-stage Single Venue Rallies as well as motor racing, sprinting, historic rally tests, motorcycle racing and a race over the Grand National jumps between a horse and a car.

 

 

How was that done?  I have tried jumping a hedge in a car and it really wasn't a success.

 

The race was over the fences on Railway Straight. The car drove up a short ramp and 'flew' over the jumps on one side of the course whilst the horse & jockey cleared the fences on the far side of the jump to the ramp. I am sure there was some 'News Footage' of the event.

 

At one stage there was a sprint run before the Grand National. Unfortunately a car lost control and went through one of the beautifully prepared fences. The driver ended up with not only a large bill to fix his car but also a large bill to rebuild the fence. Shortly after that all motorsport was banned during the period of National Hunt events.



#125 timbo

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Posted 28 April 2017 - 08:50

Lee,
Even more surprisingly Parramatta City Raceway in Sydney has also not been mentioned. The speedway is on the site of a former trotting track, with the trotting track acting as a run-off between the edge of the speedway and the safety fences around the track.

The running rails for the trotting track can still be seen in the pit area outside turns 3 & 4.


The trotting track was used once or twice for long track speedway motorcycle racing not that long ago, as was the Bankstown Paceway trotting track (on a few occasions)with longtrack motorcycle speedway racing the order of the night.