Plumpton

Plumpton is a village near the town of Lewes in East Sussex. It is notable mainly for it’s racecourse and for Plumpton College. I would also have to say that this is a very pretty area to be in.

There isn’t much by way of accommodation and nightlife in the immediate vicinity though the nearby town of Lewes and of course Brighton have plenty between them if that’s what you would like.

Plumpton Racecourse

Plumpton Racecourse stages only National Hunt Racing on turf.

Plumpton is a left handed, undulating and sharp circuit of around 9 furlongs.

Clerk of the course: Mark Cornford

Course telephone number: 01273 890383

Email address: racing@plumptonracecourse.co.uk

Full address: Plumpton Racecourse, Plumpton, East Sussex, BN7 3AL

Getting Here

Plumpon is 45 miles from Central London, 169 miles from Birmingham, 183 miles from Cardiff, 251 miles from Manchester and 457 miles from Edinburgh.

The racecourse is about two miles north of the village, just off the B2116 Lewes to Keymer road. There is very good access to the area from any of M23, A23 or A27.

The course post code is BN7 3AL.

Course parking is free.

Plumpton Station adjoins the course.

Racecourse facilities

Course website: https://www.plumptonracecourse.co.uk/

Disabled access: https://www.plumptonracecourse.co.uk/general-information/faqs/

There are two enclosures at Plumpton. The Grandstand and Paddock is the main enclosure. There is also a picnic enclosure which operates on Sundays and Bank Holidays. There isn’t a formal dress code here. However, if you are using the restaurants, the dress code is Smart Casual.

Buying a ticket in advance is cheaper!

The course has two restaurants. The Paddock Restaurant is located on the first floor of the Sussex Stand and has views over the racecourse. Your table is yours for the day if that’s what you would like. The Marquee Restaurant is on the lawn right by the final fence. I didn’t use either but compared to other courses the prices look quite reasonable indeed.

The view here is good and is really good if you go right to the very top of the stand

My Day

It’s been a good thirty years since I’ve come to Plumpton. Not sure why? At the time it was the scene of my largest ever on course bet. It was a horse trained by the wonderful Josh Gifford and thankfully it won and won well.

In the opener today, a Class 4 Novice Hurdle, my eye is first drawn to the Chris Gordon trained Baddesley Knight. He has shown a liking for Plumpton in the past having easily won his bumper her in April last year. This is his third start over hurdles. In the first of those at Newbury, he ran very well finishing in fourth in a race that looks better than this. He subsequently ran not so well at Sandown but that may have been down to the heaving ground. The morning price of around 5/6 is a little short as I don’t think this is a foregone conclusion. Both the Gary Moore trained West Drive (won his only start over hurdles) and the Colin Tizzard trained Fly to Mars have something to recommend them, particularly the former. West Drive does though have a penalty and will need to improve to concede 6lb to my selection.

Having arrived at the course and looked at the betting for the race, Baddesley Knight opened at around 4/6 and was backed down to 1/2. That’s too short for my assessment and I’m not playing. Interestingly, Fly to Mars is around the 5/2 mark, he was twice that last night. As the race unfolded, it was these two who fought out the finish. Fly to Mars took it up going well having entered the back straight for the final time and the move was tracked by Baddesley Knight as the two gradually pulled clear of the others. Turning for home, the jockey on Baddesley Knight looked very confident and having jumped upsides at the second last, he went to the front and ran on well to win. The 5/6 available this morning looks pretty good now, I think.

I did have one bet today and thankfully a winning one. The fourth race on the card was  a Veterans Handicap Chase and included a horse that seems to have been racing forever in the Venetia Williams trained Uhlan Bute. Her horses are running well right now and are worth a second look. Uhlan Bute has won here before, albeit over hurdles and almost five years ago to the day.

I can’t say a lot about the race as I had already left. Unfortunately, my phone packed up and I decided to make sure I was finding my way back in daylight without my GPS. Thankfully, it was easy enough.

Just three more to do to finish my little challenge, four if they race at Towcester again. I will do Wincanton at the end of the month. This is a course I have never visited before and I’m looking forward to it. I am finishing at Newton Abbott at the end of April as sadly there isn’t a meeting before then. I had hoped to finish at the Cheltenham Festival in March and will still go (twice).