Fontwell Park > General Info > History
Fontwell Park was laid down in 1924 in the parklands that had been the training ground of Alfred Day in an almost unique figure of eight circuit. It is now the only National Hunt course laid out in such a manner.
The course officially opened on 21st May 1924 with the first race of the two day fixture, the Walberton Chase being won by the favourite 'Gem' and ridden by the champion jockey, Dick Lees.
October 10th 1949 saw the first ever winner of her Majesty the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth. The horse was Monaveen, trained by Peter Cazalet and ridden by Tony Grantham in the Chichester Handicap Chase. A few months later, Monaveen finished fifth to Freebooter in the Grand National. 2002 saw the running of the Monaveen Handicap Chase at Fontwell Park , which along with a topiary statue honours the bond between the horse and his owner had with National Hunt racing.
The dual winning Champion Hurdler, National Spirit, won 32 of his 85 starts and five of those were at Fontwell, most notably in the Rank Challenge Cup, which he won 3 years in succession. In 1965 and every year since a hurdle race has been run in his honour. Every decade this race attracts many equine stars. Its first running saw Salmon Spray winning who went on to land the Champion Hurdle in 1966. Other top class horses to have won it include the 1970's dual Champion Hurdler Comedy of Errors, the triple Champion Hurdle winner in the 1980's See You Then and Beech Road from the 1990's. Baracouda won the race in 2001 and this year’s winner was the Alan King trained My Way de Solzen.
The Northern Racing group took control of the course in 2002 and has made huge investments in the facilities and prize money on offer. Construction is currently underway on a hotel, pub and new stables on site and future plans include extensions to public bars and a new grandstand.
In the 2005 season Fontwell’s attendances rose by 23% putting Fontwell second only to York Racecourse in terms of increased attendances.
