Elmbridge Has Been Racing for More Than a Century

In the UK, there are very few boroughs that can say they offer two types of racing. Elmbridge, however, does.

Here, we have a racetrack called Brooklands, which opened in June 1907 and is actually considered the first purpose-built motor racing track.

Just four miles away, at Esher, Sandown Park has been running horses since the Victorian era, hosting some of the largest jump and flat calendars each year.

Brooklands, 1907


Brooklands was built for cars at the time when every other track in the UK was built for horses. The original circuit was two and three-quarter miles long and 100 feet wide, with two bank curves rushing up to 30 feet. Racing ran there from 1907 until 1939, and since then, no major events have happened (on the slopes at least). Many may even recall the iconic curves from certain TV shows, like Top Gear. Aviation grew up on the very same ground. Vickers built aircraft there, and the museum that now occupies the site holds a Vickers Wellington that was recovered from Loch Ness in 1985.

Sandown Park, Esher

 

Sandown Park Racecourse on Portsmouth Road is the borough’s other racecourse, and is generally the much busier one of the two in today’s times.

It’s best known for the Tingle Creek, which is a two-mile chase that opens the winter season in December, and the Coral-Eclipse, the midsummer flat race.

Due to Sandown being around since the Victorian era, the park attracts a large crowd. For their horse racing events, around 120,000 visitors attend every year.

They hold non-racing events there as well. Reports suggest that between 118,000 and 128,000 people visit these events on a yearly basis.

Racing Still Sells

Races as a theme reaches far beyond the two tracks, because it’s a story that people are familiar with.

The Brooklands Museum sells it with a racing car simulator, a Concorde simulator and an exhibition called Britain’s Grand Prix Story.

Sandown, while promoting ordinary races, takes it a step further with themed race days. These are built around the Tingle Creek as well as the Eclipse.

It has even found its way into online entertainment. Among a library of slots, UK online players find titles such as Big Bass Raceday Repeat by Pragmatic Play, putting races on the reels.

Advertising companies use it as well. Watchmakers are plastered around race day events, including Rolex and the Florida speedway all the way to TAG Heuer in Monaco.

Two Tracks, One Borough

Weybridge sits in a very special place, as both sites are close enough to visit in a single day.

Brooklands Museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm and Sandown’s fixtures run from late morning to early evening (when available). As a result, if you really wanted to, visiting both tracks in a day is possible.

Therefore, if you have a free day, why not consider it? Check out the cars first at the Museum and then check out the races in Sandown Park.