Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in 210 acres (85 ha) of land.
The racecourse was the idea of 19th century businessman (and Conservative Party agent) S.H. Hyde, who was enjoying a carriage drive in the country when he came across Kempton Manor and Park for sale. Hyde leased the grounds in 1872 and six years later in July 1878 Kempton opened as a racecourse.
Kempton Park stages both National Hunt racing and Flat racing, with the most famous race being the King George VI Chase held every Boxing Day.
The site closed on 2 May 2005 and reopened on 25 March 2006, with a new all-weather Polytrack synthetic track and floodlighting to facilitate racing in all conditions and at all light levels. It was because flat racing was only to be on run the synthetic track that the historic Jubilee Course, a mile long spur which joined the main track by the home bend, was abandoned. It is now overgrown and some famous races, particularly the Jubilee Handicap which used to be as big a race as the Cambridgeshire and the Stewards' Cup, are no longer run.
In addition to racing, the site is home to a weekly market on Thursdays, and an Antique market on the second and last Tuesday of every month.
The racecourse has its own railway station, on the South West Trains, Shepperton to Waterloo line.
The racecourse also has a lake, into which the horse Blue Warrior jumped prior to the start of the 19.20 on 14 January 2009. The rescue operation to get the horse out of the lake caused the race to be delayed by 15 minutes.
Read more about Kempton Park Racecourse: Racecourse Details, Notable Races
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