The Course
Planned & Integrated
Most English racecourses of the time were long established and facilities, such as they were, had evolved in a haphazard manner. Northolt Park was planned as a whole, with the stands and finishing straight on a hill from which racegoers could see all parts of the course. It had fully integrated
Totalisator betting facilities. The parade ring was in full view of the stands and the unsaddling enclosure was just past the winning post.
The Track
The original track of 1929 was a circuit of about one and a quarter miles which was extended for the 1936 season. It was a 'left hand' course, with a climb up the hill beside Mandeville Road to reach the finishing straight. In 1933, a tunnel was made under the track to allow traffic to continue down Dabbs Hill Lane while racing was in progress. Races were run 'on the flat' and over hurdles. With fifty or more racing days a year, it was more heavily used than at any other course in the country.
The track's heavy clay soil was less than ideal for racing, becoming a fetlock-deep quagmire in spring and autumn and baking rock hard in summer. An artificial watering system was installed in 1934 to relieve the hard going.
Innovation
Free from the stifling conservatism of the Jockey Club, it was the first course to use
a race timing clock
and to use
advanced starting gates.
It introduced charity evening meetings and held ladies days. Despite some opposition, race commentaries were relayed to racegoers over a loudspeaker system from a
commentator
perched high, and exposed to the elements, on the roof of the Tote Stand. There would have been cameras at the finish in 1937, but the installation was halted by the arrival of the Receiver.
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