Racecourse Guide

Uttoxeter
National Hunt

Staffordshire · home to more jockey history than almost any small track in Britain

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Left-Handed
Undulating, Sharp

Shape

Left-Handed Oval ~1m2½f

Track Type

Undulating, Sharp

Fences

8 per circuit

Hurdles

9 per circuit

Run-in

Under 1 furlong short

Direction

Left-handed

Course Highlight

Midlands Grand National Premier Handicap

Ownership

Arena Racing Company since 2012

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Uttoxeter is left-handed, an oval of about 1 mile 2½ furlongs with a dog-leg, “S”-shaped back straight that undulates as it rises over Clump Hill, before a downhill run around the far bend into a flat, galloping 4-furlong home straight. The run-in is short, under a furlong. The track is widely described as sharp and tight, suiting a nippy, handy horse over an out-and-out galloper — jockey Mick Fitzgerald has said it puts a premium on a horse’s ability to travel on the bridle. The chase course carries 8 fences a circuit, roughly half of them falling in the home straight before the winning post, which sharpens every finish; the hurdle course has been reduced from 10 to 9 flights a circuit in recent seasons. The going can turn testing in wet weather despite the course generally favouring good ground.

Uttoxeter opened in 1907 at the Wood Lane site, taking over the racing interests of the recently closed Keele Park course. Racing was suspended for both World Wars — the site was requisitioned by the War Department during the second — and the course reopened on 12 April 1952 in front of a 12,000-strong crowd, after Uttoxeter Urban Council bought it from the previous owners. Sir Stanley Clarke and his company Northern Racing bought the course from the local council in 1988; Northern Racing merged with Arena Leisure in 2012 to form Arena Racing Company, which has owned and operated Uttoxeter continuously ever since. In 2006, a fire in a sponsorship van caused a 100-minute suspension of racing, with no injuries reported.

Because Uttoxeter is a quick track, it naturally puts a premium on a horse’s ability to travel on the bridle. If you’re already shoving one along with a circuit to go there, you’re going to struggle to win, whether you’re riding over fences or hurdles. Tactically, it’s much the same for both disciplines, and punters shouldn’t be alarmed if they see a jockey going wide down the back straight, because there’s actually a little bit of an ’S’ configuration there and the shortest way is not necessarily on the inside.Mick Fitzgerald, former top jump jockey — At The Races

Course Facts

Founded 1907; reopened 1952 after Uttoxeter Urban Council bought the course
Ownership Arena Racing Company since a 2012 merger (Northern Racing from 1988) — continuous ARC ownership since then
Jockey history Two separate career and season milestone records connect directly to this course

The Circuit

Shape Left-handed, ~1m2½f, dog-leg back straight rising over Clump Hill
Fences 8 per circuit, roughly half in the home straight
Character Sharp and tight, rewards a horse’s ability to travel on the bridle

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Premier Handicap

Midlands Grand National

Run over ~4m2f, held in May. First run in 1969, its distance has changed repeatedly over the decades, most recently settling at 4m2f8y with 25 fences. Held Listed status until 2022, reclassified as a Premier Handicap in 2023 when Listed status was removed from handicap racing nationally. David Pipe has trained a record 4 winners (2011-2014); Synchronised won here in 2010 before landing the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Listed

Summer Cup

Run over 3m2f, held in June/July. Launched in 2000 as the longer “Summer National” before being cut to its current distance and rebranded in 2012.

Pace Bias

Running Style Bias

No robust quantified front-runner-versus-hold-up data has been published for Uttoxeter specifically — checked directly against drawbias.com, which carries no statistical pace-bias table for this course. What is quantified is a market-favourite win rate of 34.9%, above the national average of around 32%. Qualitatively, jockey Mick Fitzgerald has described the course as putting a premium on a horse’s ability to travel on the bridle, with prominent racing paying off on the chase course particularly when the ground is firm — directional evidence, not a statistic.

Run Style Bias — Qualitative + One Statistic

▲ Prominent/On the bridle

No published statistic — qualitative expert view only

─ Market favourites

34.9% win rate, above the ~32% national average

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Skelton, Daniel	621	140	22.54%	276	44.44%	0.99	-63.58
2 O’Neill, Jonjo and AJ	753	99	13.15%	222	29.48%	0.81	-154.86
3 O’Brien, Fergal	492	83	16.87%	201	40.85%	0.96	-31.60
4 Murphy, Olly	381	82	21.52%	159	41.73%	0.99	-34.74
5 McCain Jnr, D	565	74	13.10%	172	30.44%	0.83	-131.65
6 Pipe, D E	417	66	15.83%	149	35.73%	0.91	-46.92
7 Newland, Dr R D P	272	66	24.26%	125	45.96%	1.06	-4.29
8 Twiston-Davies, N A	415	65	15.66%	156	37.59%	0.92	-94.33
9 Henderson, N J	252	58	23.02%	110	43.65%	0.91	-57.73
10 Longsdon, C E	310	52	16.77%	120	38.71%	0.98	-63.64
11 Mulholland, N P	395	45	11.39%	104	26.33%	0.87	-104.48
12 Bowen, Peter / Michael	311	43	13.83%	112	36.01%	0.90	-60.17
13 Vaughan, Tim	384	42	10.94%	114	29.69%	0.79	-127.95
14 Hobbs, P J / White, J	275	41	14.91%	95	34.55%	0.84	-108.30
15 Bailey, K C	316	38	12.03%	107	33.86%	0.75	-112.92
16 King, N B	273	37	13.55%	111	40.66%	0.85	-62.17
17 Smith, Mrs S J	249	35	14.06%	69	27.71%	1.15	+51.15
18 Fry, Harry	140	35	25.00%	64	45.71%	1.12	+18.03
19 Williams, Evan	318	34	10.69%	87	27.36%	0.83	-14.04
20 Greenall, O / Guerriero, J	304	33	10.86%	77	25.33%	1.02	-66.27

Uttoxeter NH, since 2010. Daniel Skelton leads the page on volume (140 wins from 621, 22.5% SR, A/E 0.99). The real value signals are Mrs S J Smith (A/E 1.15, +£51.15). Oppose the over-bet K C Bailey (A/E 0.75) and Tim Vaughan (A/E 0.79).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Skelton, Harry	463	132	28.51%	240	51.84%	1.07	+49.54
2 Bowen, Sean P	566	118	20.85%	241	42.58%	1.00	-63.57
3 Twiston-Davies, Sam	535	94	17.57%	209	39.07%	0.95	-9.58
4 Johnson, Richard	532	90	16.92%	200	37.59%	0.83	-84.18
5 Coleman, A	375	63	16.80%	114	30.40%	0.97	-45.93
6 McCoy, A P	280	61	21.79%	130	46.43%	0.80	-60.77
7 Sheehan, Gavin	325	60	18.46%	138	42.46%	1.11	+12.73
8 Brennan, P J	347	56	16.14%	153	44.09%	0.93	-23.27
9 Scudamore, Tom	419	55	13.13%	132	31.50%	0.81	-128.43
10 Hughes, Brian	401	50	12.47%	124	30.92%	0.88	-93.42
11 O’Brien, T J	346	49	14.16%	116	33.53%	1.00	-100.85
12 Burke, Jonathan	228	41	17.98%	93	40.79%	1.15	-19.59
13 Maguire, Jason	226	40	17.70%	84	37.17%	0.85	-51.84
14 Fehily, Noel	171	38	22.22%	82	47.95%	1.06	-13.15
15 Scholfield, Nick	277	33	11.91%	71	25.63%	1.10	+17.90
16 Brooke, Henry	257	31	12.06%	68	26.46%	1.13	-49.28
17 Quinlan, Sean	390	29	7.44%	88	22.56%	0.71	-194.84
18 Wedge, Adam	288	29	10.07%	82	28.47%	0.93	+7.50
19 McLernon, R P	346	28	8.09%	65	18.79%	0.79	-101.48
20 Woods, K K	227	27	11.89%	77	33.92%	0.98	-8.18

Uttoxeter NH, since 2010. Harry Skelton leads the riders on volume (132 wins from 463, 28.5% SR, A/E 1.07), beating the market too. Oppose the over-bet Sean Quinlan (A/E 0.71), R P McLernon (A/E 0.79) and A P McCoy (A/E 0.80).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Kayf Tara	561	72	12.83%	183	32.62%	0.92	-117.26
2 Milan	479	65	13.57%	167	34.86%	0.89	-31.89
3 Presenting	458	63	13.76%	150	32.75%	0.91	-128.04
4 Flemensfirth (USA)	413	59	14.29%	132	31.96%	0.97	-88.96
5 Westerner	348	45	12.93%	116	33.33%	0.84	-128.55
6 Yeats (IRE)	278	45	16.19%	93	33.45%	1.07	-34.01
7 Oscar (IRE)	391	43	11.00%	119	30.43%	0.82	-142.24
8 Beneficial	369	42	11.38%	102	27.64%	0.93	-131.96
9 Midnight Legend	400	40	10.00%	125	31.25%	0.72	-162.87
10 King’s Theatre (IRE)	264	38	14.39%	95	35.98%	0.94	-16.96
11 Getaway (GER)	347	36	10.37%	87	25.07%	0.79	-121.55
12 Mahler	317	36	11.36%	103	32.49%	0.82	-81.31
13 Court Cave (IRE)	223	32	14.35%	77	34.53%	1.08	+42.65
14 Black Sam Bellamy (IRE)	196	27	13.78%	57	29.08%	1.06	-19.61
15 Scorpion (IRE)	194	27	13.92%	62	31.96%	1.10	+38.50
16 Old Vic	167	27	16.17%	64	38.32%	1.03	+2.76
17 Fame And Glory	151	27	17.88%	55	36.42%	1.18	+15.81
18 Stowaway	214	23	10.75%	61	28.50%	0.76	-63.42
19 Shantou (USA)	196	23	11.73%	62	31.63%	0.73	-82.04
20 Definite Article	126	22	17.46%	42	33.33%	1.21	+0.29

Uttoxeter NH, since 2010. Kayf Tara tops the sire list (72 wins from 561, 12.8% SR, A/E 0.92), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Fame And Glory (A/E 1.18, +£15.81) and Definite Article (A/E 1.21, +£0.29). Oppose the over-bet Midnight Legend (A/E 0.72), Shantou (USA) (A/E 0.73) and Stowaway (A/E 0.76).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

🏇

Travel on the Bridle Wins Here

Uttoxeter is sharp and tight, putting a premium — in Mick Fitzgeralds words — on a horses ability to travel on the bridle; nippy, handy types beat out-and-out gallopers.

🎯

Half the Fences Are in the Straight

Around half of each circuits fences fall in the home straight, sharpening every finish — a bold, accurate jumper still travelling turning in holds the edge.

🎯

Dan and Harry Skelton Lead the Modern Stats

The most consistently strong names across every recent-seasons dataset.

🌧️

Watch for Testing Ground

Despite generally favouring good going, Uttoxeter can ride genuinely testing in the wet — a shift that puts a premium on stamina.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Calling the Midlands Grand National a “Listed race” — it lost that status in 2023 and is now a Premier Handicap.
Assuming Uttoxeter changed hands again in 2021 — a claim to that effect couldn’t be corroborated; the course has been Arena Racing Company-owned continuously since 2012.
Implying Jonjo O’Neill’s entire 149-winner season record was “set at Uttoxeter” — the record is a season-long tally; Uttoxeter hosted a stand-out five-timer within that campaign, not the whole record.

Common Questions

Uttoxeter Racecourse FAQs

Is Uttoxeter left-handed or right-handed?

Left-handed, an oval of about 1m2½f with a dog-leg back straight.

Does the Midlands Grand National have Graded status?

No. It held Listed status until 2022 and has been a Premier Handicap since 2023, when Listed status was removed from handicap racing nationally.

Who owns Uttoxeter Racecourse?

Arena Racing Company, since a 2012 merger with Northern Racing, which bought the course in 1988.

What jockey records are connected to Uttoxeter?

AP McCoy broke Richard Dunwoody’s all-time career win record here in 2002, and Jonjo O’Neill rode a perfect five-timer here during his record-breaking 1977/78 champion jockey season.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Market Rasen

Right-handed, another Jockey Club-adjacent Midlands track with a genuine debut-track story.

Stratford-on-Avon

Left-handed, sharp track, another Midlands jumps venue.

Wolverhampton

Left-handed, tight oval, Britain’s first floodlit racecourse.

Want the thinking behind National Hunt bets?

FormDial posts every selection before the off with its full reasoning: the angle, the price, the logic. See how course analysis feeds into real selections.

Today’s Dial →

From the Formdial Shop

Going racing here?

The Trackside Companion is your day at the races, written to order — every race on your meeting’s card broken down, plus this track’s draw, angles and people distilled from the guide you’ve just read. Order at least a week before your raceday.

Plan your raceday →

UttoxeterNational Hunt