Sandown Park lies in Esher, Surrey, roughly in the outer suburbs of London, close to Esher railway station which is served by trains running direct from London Waterloo. On race days, a secondary exit from the station opens and leads directly into the racecourse and onto Lower Green, Esher, making it one of the more convenient venues to reach without a car.
A History Going Back to Henry II
The land at Sandown has a long and varied past. It was the site of a priory built by Henry II, whose entire occupant community perished during the plague of 1349. A hospital was later constructed on the same ground, and when that building was eventually demolished, the land became part of Sandown Farm. Lieutenant Colonel Owen Williams purchased the land from a Mr J.W. Spicer, and it was Owen’s younger brother Hwfa – pronounced ‘Hoofer’ – who recognised the site’s potential for horse racing. Hwfa Williams went on to serve as clerk of the course at Sandown for around fifty years. The racecourse opened in 1875, charging every attendee at least half a crown, making it one of the first courses in England to admit all racegoers on a paid basis. That same year it became the first course in England to introduce a members’ enclosure. The opening meeting ran over three days from Thursday 22 April and included the Grand National Hunt Chase, now part of the Cheltenham Festival. The Saturday’s Grand International Steeple Chase carried a prize of £2,130 – the largest steeplechase prize of that season, even exceeding that year’s Liverpool Grand National. The Prince of Wales was among those who patronised Sandown Park, winning the Eclipse Stakes in both 1897 and 1900 with his horses Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee respectively. During the Second World War, the site was requisitioned by the War Department from 1940 to 1945. Then, on 24 January 1948, the BBC broadcast two steeplechases and a hurdle race from Sandown – the first time horse racing was shown live on television anywhere in the world. The first sponsored National Hunt race followed on 27 April 1957, when Colonel W.H. Whitbread, chairman of the well-known brewery and a man who had himself completed the Grand National course twice, arranged backing for a race at the venue.
Racing and Events Throughout the Year
Today Sandown Park hosts five Grade One National Hunt races and one Group 1 flat race, the Eclipse Stakes. Racing takes place on afternoons, evenings and weekends across the calendar. Beyond the racing programme, the venue regularly holds trade shows, wedding fairs, toy fairs, car shows, auctions, property shows and concerts. Bands including UB40, Madness, Girls Aloud, Spandau Ballet and Simply Red have all performed there.