Wolverhampton Course Guide
2024 Race week 2 - 1st August
(highlights)
Wolverhampton, is one of Britain’s busiest racecourses, hosting 80 fixtures across the year, as well as several music events. Alongside being a bustling racing track, Wolverhampton Racecourse is home to a conference centre and Holiday Inn Hotel, making it a popular choice for venue hire. One of the most established racecourses in the Midlands, Dunstall Park has held racing at Wolverhampton since 1888, bringing all the thrills of all-weather racing.
See the 2023 Race Week 5 - 7th September - Highlights
Location
Conveniently located in The City of Wolverhampton, off the A449 (Stafford Road) dual carriageway, Wolves can be easily accessed via car and rail, with regular direct trains and Metro service to/from Birmingham City Centre (avg. 20min), Liverpool Lime Street (avg. 1hr and 24min) and Manchester (avg. 1hr and 22min).
History
Racing began in Wolverhampton in 1825 and moved to the current racecourse site in 1888, with the first race meeting being held on 13 August. In 1933, the final National Hunt meeting took place at the racecourse before a period of redevelopment, including the instalment of an all-weather surface and floodlights, and in doing so, became Britain’s first floodlit track. A hotel, new grandstand, restaurant and executive boxes were also built during this time. In 1994, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II re-opened the new Wolverhampton Racecourse.
In 2014, another major investment was made into a new surface, this time a high-performance Tapeta surface, that wasn’t yet used in Great Britain. After a three-month resurfacing period, the racecourse opened for business again with our first meeting on the Tapeta track, receiving excellent reviews from jockeys, trainers, owners and racegoers.
Wolverhampton Racecourse now welcomes 120,000 visitors each year across 80 race fixtures, music live events and conferences.
The Track
The all-weather course forms a flat, left-handed oval circuit of just under a mile in length. The bends are fairly sharp and with a narrow straight of under two furlongs it favours horses with the ability to hold a good position as opposed to those who need time to find full stride. The track's surface was changed in 2004 from fibresand to polytrack, which in turn was replaced by tapeta during the summer of 2014.
Notable Fixtures at Wolverhampton
The Lady Wulfruna Stakes Raceday which takes place in Spring offers thrilling racing combined with a fantastic atmosphere and features the most prestigious race of the year, the Listed Lady Wulfruna Stakes, which forms part of the All-Weather Championships as a Fast-Track Qualifier for Finals Day.
If you’re looking for a raceday with a bumper crowd and next-level atmosphere, Boxing Day Racing is the one for you. Boxing Day has become a Wolverhampton family tradition as thousands flock to the track to escape the chaos of Christmas for a day of high-action at the races!
Summer racing more your style? The pinnacle of Wolverhampton’s racing and social calendar, Ladies Evening, year-on-year delivers thrilling racing, an electric atmosphere, sensational style and superb post-racing entertainment from a headline act in September.