Chepstow
Flat
Piercefield, Monmouthshire · the Wye Valley course beside the Welsh Grand National
Turf
Left-Handed
Undulating
Chepstow also stages National Hunt racing. Read the National Hunt racecourse guide →
What is Chepstow racecourse like?
Track Character
Chepstow sits in the Wye Valley on the old Piercefield House estate, its left-handed round course running to just under two miles. Despite that size it isn’t a true galloping, speed-favouring track — pronounced undulations run throughout, giving the view from the winning post a look several sources compare to “the ocean with large waves and swells.” All races up to a mile use a separate straight course instead of the full circuit, and that straight is predominantly downhill, falling nearly 50 metres over its length before a couple of further undulations toward the line.
Chepstow’s inaugural two-day meeting began on 6 August 1926, built by a syndicate of ten South Wales gentry and businessmen including Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar. It was requisitioned as RAF Chepstow during the Second World War, and today is owned and run by Arena Racing Company. Chepstow’s Flat and jumps courses share a footprint but aren’t identical: the jumps course sits inside the Flat circuit, giving it tighter, sharper bends than the wider, gentler turns used on the Flat.
Course Facts
- Configuration Left-handed oval of just under two miles; undulating throughout rather than a flat gallop, despite the size
- Straight course Used for all races up to a mile; predominantly downhill with a fall of nearly 50 metres, plus further undulations toward the finish
- Jumps overlay The National Hunt course sits inside the Flat circuit, with tighter, sharper bends than the wider Flat turns — the key structural difference between the two codes here
- Going extremes Genuinely fast on quick ground; soft or heavy conditions spread fields out dramatically, giving Chepstow a “mudlark’s track” reputation in winter
- 2026 course work Essential drainage work was carried out on the Flat track before the 2026 season, with the opening Flat fixture moved to Bath to let the turf re-grow. The long-run figures on this page are almost entirely pre-work, so check current-season racing before assuming a historical going or strip effect still reads the same way
- Historic trivia Champion jockey Gordon Richards won 11 consecutive races at a single two-day Chepstow meeting in 1933
The Round Course
- Draw bias No usable round-course draw rule. The one clear Chepstow draw effect sits on the STRAIGHT course at 7f, where high stalls have performed best
- Pace No strong universal run-style rule on the round course
The Straight Course
- Up to a mile Every race up to a mile is run on a separate straight course, not the round circuit
- Downhill It falls nearly 50 metres over its length, so horses can be in a full drive a long way out
- Draw Broadly fair at 5f, 6f and a mile; at 7f high stalls have performed best
- Pace Broadly fair at most trips, but published 2021–25 handicap data has been notably hostile to hold-up runners over 7f
Calendar & Notable Races
- Golden Daffodil Stakes Chepstow’s one Group-level Flat race historically — Listed 1994-2002, upgraded to Group 3 2003-05, then discontinued. At the time it was reportedly the only Group race staged in Wales
- Current status No Listed or Group Flat race is currently run at Chepstow — the Flat programme today is built from handicaps, nurseries, maidens and other ordinary races
- Welsh Grand National weekend Chepstow’s Flat programme sits alongside its far more famous December jumps identity — see the National Hunt guide for the Coral Welsh Grand National
A Chepstow Flat Landmark
Chepstow’s most celebrated Flat moment belongs to Sir Gordon Richards. In October 1933 the record-breaking champion reeled off a world-record 12 consecutive winners — 11 of them here, when he won all six races on 4 October and the first five the following day — on his way to a then-record 259-winner season. The unbroken run stood as a world record for 68 years.
Modern Chepstow offers no Group or Listed Flat race, so the card is built from competitive handicaps, nurseries and maidens. What the fixtures lack in grade they make up in character: the big, undulating circuit and long downhill straight pose questions of stamina and tactics that regularly catch out horses whose form was built on flatter, sharper tracks.
Do front-runners win at Chepstow?
Chepstow is a genuine switchback — it rolls through repeated rises and falls rather than running level — and everything up to a mile is run on a straight course with no bend at all. The undulations, not the geometry, are what make it distinctive.
Here the evidence pulls two ways and we would rather show that than tidy it up. The riding commentary says the repeated transitions break a leader’s rhythm and can flatten out a horse that commits to the front too soon, which argues for patience. The outcome figures do not show closers profiting from that; if anything they lean the other way. Our read is that Chepstow is broadly fair, with the edge going to a horse that can hold a rhythm through the undulations rather than to any particular position — which is a horse-type question more than a tactical one.
There is one measured exception, and it sits at the same trip as the draw effect. Published work covering 2021–25 handicaps of eight or more runners — the same filter our own draw thirds use — found the two worst draw-and-run-style combinations at Chepstow 7f were both hold-up runners: from a low draw, 1 winner from 53 (A/E 0.21, IV 0.20), and from a middle draw, 1 from 54 (A/E 0.27, IV 0.19). That is not a licence to call Chepstow a front-runners’ track — the broader picture above still holds — but over 7f specifically, conceding position has been expensive.
7f draw and pace together. High stalls have the strongest long-run draw figures at this trip, and hold-up runners the weakest run-style figures. Neither cancels the other, and a high draw is not an exemption: ask where the horse is likely to be as well as where it starts.
Run Style Bias — Qualitative, Except 7f
Rhythm matters more than position
The switchback can flatten them out
No clear course-wide edge, but poor over 7f
No lean either way
Treat these bars as directional — a reading of how the track rides rather than a statistical measurement. The riding commentary and the outcome figures genuinely disagree here; broadly fair is our honest reading of the two together.
Does the draw matter at Chepstow?
Strong bias — material handicapping factor
Moderate lean — worth noting
Broadly fair — not a primary factor
Read off stall analysis. Chepstow is broadly draw-neutral at 5f, 6f and a mile, with 7f the one genuine exception — high stalls, and most pronounced in larger fields.
Which trainers and jockeys win most at Chepstow?
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Win% | Places | Place% | A/E | P/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Evans, P D | 560 | 62 | 11.07% | 170 | 30.36% | 0.92 | -88.07 |
| 2 Balding, A M | 254 | 54 | 21.26% | 116 | 45.67% | 0.95 | -6.50 |
| 3 Oshea, J G M | 396 | 53 | 13.38% | 110 | 27.78% | 1.09 | +35.09 |
| 4 Beckett, R M | 168 | 49 | 29.17% | 78 | 46.43% | 1.16 | +39.66 |
| 5 Carroll, A W | 464 | 46 | 9.91% | 133 | 28.66% | 0.86 | -97.11 |
| 6 Hannon (Jnr), Richard | 300 | 40 | 13.33% | 104 | 34.67% | 0.73 | -108.37 |
| 7 Houghton, Eve Johnson | 205 | 40 | 19.51% | 81 | 39.51% | 1.13 | +60.38 |
| 8 Llewellyn, B J | 311 | 38 | 12.22% | 100 | 32.15% | 1.02 | -30.13 |
| 9 Millman, B R | 297 | 36 | 12.12% | 110 | 37.04% | 0.78 | -100.21 |
| 10 Harris, R A | 456 | 35 | 7.68% | 108 | 23.68% | 0.76 | -132.15 |
| 11 Saunders, M S | 256 | 32 | 12.50% | 86 | 33.59% | 0.92 | -36.49 |
| 12 Harris, Miss G | 323 | 28 | 8.67% | 83 | 25.70% | 0.78 | -73.13 |
| 13 Flint, J L | 182 | 28 | 15.38% | 57 | 31.32% | 1.30 | +62.83 |
| 14 Mason, Christopher | 190 | 27 | 14.21% | 61 | 32.11% | 1.17 | -15.40 |
| 15 Haggas, W J | 84 | 27 | 32.14% | 48 | 57.14% | 1.02 | +5.54 |
| 16 Cox, C G | 144 | 23 | 15.97% | 58 | 40.28% | 0.83 | -4.62 |
| 17 Watson, Archie | 113 | 23 | 20.35% | 53 | 46.90% | 1.01 | -0.91 |
| 18 Price, R J | 223 | 22 | 9.87% | 65 | 29.15% | 0.78 | -88.79 |
| 19 De Giles, Ed | 124 | 21 | 16.94% | 40 | 32.26% | 1.31 | +20.13 |
| 20 Wintle, A | 177 | 20 | 11.30% | 51 | 28.81% | 0.89 | -5.75 |
Chepstow Flat · Current trainers, since 2010
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Win% | Places | Place% | A/E | P/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Probert, David | 507 | 68 | 13.41% | 155 | 30.57% | 0.88 | -126.19 |
| 2 Morris, Luke | 405 | 43 | 10.62% | 112 | 27.65% | 0.77 | -142.73 |
| 3 Ryan, Rossa | 203 | 43 | 21.18% | 86 | 42.36% | 1.19 | +38.22 |
| 4 Marquand, Tom | 210 | 35 | 16.67% | 77 | 36.67% | 0.97 | +2.05 |
| 5 Doyle, Hollie | 159 | 35 | 22.01% | 63 | 39.62% | 1.07 | -8.44 |
| 6 Bishop, Charles | 239 | 33 | 13.81% | 72 | 30.13% | 0.96 | -19.49 |
| 7 Mangan, Gina | 189 | 30 | 15.87% | 63 | 33.33% | 1.22 | -7.90 |
| 8 Kingscote, Richard | 165 | 30 | 18.18% | 71 | 43.03% | 0.92 | -35.81 |
| 9 Murphy, Oisin | 163 | 29 | 17.79% | 78 | 47.85% | 0.87 | -36.88 |
| 10 Dobbs, Pat | 126 | 25 | 19.84% | 41 | 32.54% | 0.96 | -27.75 |
| 11 Keniry, L P | 299 | 24 | 8.03% | 63 | 21.07% | 0.74 | -124.65 |
| 12 Carson, William | 234 | 21 | 8.97% | 58 | 24.79% | 0.90 | -64.50 |
| 13 Hornby, Rob | 205 | 19 | 9.27% | 51 | 24.88% | 0.68 | -88.43 |
| 14 Marsh, Finley | 169 | 19 | 11.24% | 56 | 33.14% | 0.82 | -32.74 |
| 15 Fahy, J P | 153 | 19 | 12.42% | 45 | 29.41% | 1.05 | +9.38 |
| 16 Cox, William | 223 | 18 | 8.07% | 56 | 25.11% | 0.91 | -64.63 |
| 17 O’Neill, K T | 194 | 18 | 9.28% | 50 | 25.77% | 0.83 | -98.38 |
| 18 Shepherd, Callum | 111 | 17 | 15.32% | 35 | 31.53% | 1.20 | +14.83 |
Chepstow Flat · Current riders, since 2010
Which sires do best at Chepstow?
| Sire | Runs | Wins | Win% | Places | Place% | A/E | P/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Dark Angel (IRE) | 186 | 37 | 19.89% | 69 | 37.10% | 1.31 | +31.59 |
| 2 Kodiac | 247 | 29 | 11.74% | 82 | 33.20% | 0.81 | -44.15 |
| 3 Invincible Spirit (IRE) | 156 | 25 | 16.03% | 51 | 32.69% | 1.03 | -2.54 |
| 4 Royal Applause | 151 | 19 | 12.58% | 48 | 31.79% | 1.09 | +17.25 |
| 5 Acclamation | 165 | 18 | 10.91% | 49 | 29.70% | 0.72 | -82.71 |
| 6 Dandy Man (IRE) | 160 | 18 | 11.25% | 33 | 20.63% | 0.86 | -33.13 |
| 7 Showcasing | 141 | 18 | 12.77% | 40 | 28.37% | 0.95 | +8.96 |
| 8 Pastoral Pursuits | 115 | 18 | 15.65% | 49 | 42.61% | 1.16 | +10.33 |
| 9 Exceed And Excel (AUS) | 152 | 17 | 11.18% | 41 | 26.97% | 0.73 | -36.17 |
| 10 Dream Ahead (USA) | 71 | 16 | 22.54% | 29 | 40.85% | 1.18 | -2.19 |
| 11 Kyllachy | 156 | 15 | 9.62% | 36 | 23.08% | 0.79 | -70.67 |
| 12 Holy Roman Emperor (IRE) | 81 | 15 | 18.52% | 27 | 33.33% | 1.10 | +6.45 |
| 13 Cable Bay (IRE) | 79 | 15 | 18.99% | 30 | 37.97% | 1.20 | +43.22 |
| 14 Adaay (IRE) | 96 | 14 | 14.58% | 39 | 40.63% | 0.82 | -41.57 |
| 15 Dubawi (IRE) | 46 | 14 | 30.43% | 21 | 45.65% | 1.23 | +0.80 |
| 16 Bahamian Bounty | 119 | 13 | 10.92% | 34 | 28.57% | 0.84 | -31.92 |
| 17 Mayson | 82 | 13 | 15.85% | 28 | 34.15% | 1.18 | +13.13 |
| 18 Dutch Art | 78 | 13 | 16.67% | 29 | 37.18% | 1.00 | -22.98 |
| 19 Verglas (IRE) | 76 | 13 | 17.11% | 23 | 30.26% | 1.33 | +13.88 |
| 20 Nayef (USA) | 75 | 13 | 17.33% | 28 | 37.33% | 1.08 | +22.25 |
Chepstow Flat · Since 2010
Betting Tips for Chepstow Flat Turf
The Undulations Ask a Real Stamina Question
Even sprint distances at Chepstow reward a horse that can handle the constant rise and fall — this isn’t a pure speed track despite its size.
Lean High at 7f Specifically
The clearest draw bias at Chepstow, and it sits on the STRAIGHT course — high stalls hold a genuine edge over 7f, more pronounced than at any other distance.
Ground Extremes Materially Change the Test
Chepstow rides genuinely fast on quick going and spreads fields out dramatically when soft — check the going report closely rather than relying on recent form alone.
Hollie Doyle Wins Plenty, But Not at a Profit
Doyle is 35 winners from 159 Chepstow rides at 22.01% and clears fair price at A/E 1.07, but the winners come at short enough odds that a blind level-stakes bet is £8.44 down — treat a Doyle booking as a positive signal rather than a betting angle on its own.
Don’t Look for a Current Group Race
The Golden Daffodil Stakes, Chepstow’s only Group-level Flat race, was discontinued after 2005. Chepstow has no Group or Listed Flat race today; the card is handicaps and nurseries alongside maidens and other ordinary races below black type.
Remember the Straight Course Is Downhill
All races up to a mile use a separate, predominantly downhill straight — a genuinely different test from the undulating round course used at longer trips.
The Trainer Value Sits Well Down the Table
J L Flint strikes 15.38% from 182 Chepstow runners at A/E 1.30 for +£62.83 and Ed De Giles is A/E 1.31 from 124, with Ralph Beckett (29.17% from 168, A/E 1.16, +£39.66) and Eve Johnson Houghton (19.51% from 205, A/E 1.13, +£60.38) the reliable bigger names. Archie Watson is fair value at best here — 23 winners from 113 at A/E 1.01 and marginally down to level stakes.
Several Riders Have Beaten Their Prices Here
Beyond Hollie Doyle, Rossa Ryan (21.18% from 203, A/E 1.19, +£38.22), Gina Mangan (A/E 1.22, though still £7.90 down to level stakes) and Saffie Osborne (A/E 1.16) have all returned above market expectation here. Historical records rather than a standing edge.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming Chepstow is a fast, galloping speed track because of its size. The undulations make it a genuine stamina test even at sprint distances.
- Expecting Group or Listed depth in a Chepstow Flat feature. The Golden Daffodil Stakes ended in 2005 and nothing has replaced it — today’s card tops out below black type — handicaps, nurseries, maidens and other ordinary races — so grade the form accordingly.
- Treating the high-draw edge as uniform across every trip. There is no usable edge at 5f, 6f or a mile — the thirds finish level at all three — but it is genuinely pronounced at 7f, especially in bigger fields.
- Applying jumps-course form or bends to the Flat course. The NH circuit sits inside the Flat track with noticeably tighter turns — the two are not interchangeable.
Chepstow Racecourse FAQs
Does Chepstow have a Group or Listed Flat race?
Is Chepstow a galloping track?
Is there a draw bias at Chepstow?
Who owns Chepstow Racecourse?
Nearby Tracks
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