Qualla: Cartmel Racecourse

Cartmel Racecourse: Introduction

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Strider52, CC BY-SA 3.0. Every winning connection at Cartmel goes home with a sticky toffee pudding. It is the small detail that tells you most of what you need to know about this little Cumbrian racecourse - that it is unselfconscious enough to give out puddings instead of mere prize money, and proud enough of its village's most famous export to make the gesture stick. Cartmel is a national hunt course in a village of 1,500 people, with a small grandstand, mostly temporary facilities, and a habit of pulling crowds of 20,000 to its biggest meetings. Only Aintree and Cheltenham average higher.

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Image: Strider52 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Cartmel Racecourse: Mule Races and Monks

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit RuthAS, CC BY 4.0. The origins are rather obscure. One persistent story has it that racing at Cartmel began with the medieval monks of Cartmel Priory, who organised mule races to make their journeys across the sands of Morecambe Bay to Lancaster more interesting. The Priory itself dates from 1190 a...

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Image: RuthAS | CC BY 4.0

Cartmel Racecourse: Nine Days a Year

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0. Cartmel does not race often. Nine racedays are held each year, spread across three meetings at the Whitsun weekend in late May, in July, and on the August Bank Holiday weekend. The three-day May meeting actually takes place over five days - a day off for racegoers to enjoy the La...

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Image: Alexander P Kapp | CC BY-SA 2.0

Cartmel Racecourse: The Layout and the Run-In

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Karl1587, Public domain. The track is about a mile round, with six fences, and runs in a slightly squashed oval through farmland just outside the village. Its standout feature is the steeplechase run-in: four furlongs - 804 metres - from the last fence to the finish, the longest in Britain. A horse can c...

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Image: Karl1587 | Public domain

Cartmel Racecourse: The Gay Future Coup

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Adrian Taylor, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1974, Cartmel became the site of one of the most elaborate betting coups in British racing history. The plan was organised by Tony Murphy, a millionaire Irish builder and racing enthusiast, working with Scottish trainer Antony Collins. It depended on a peculiarity of the cours...

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Image: Adrian Taylor | CC BY-SA 2.0