Wolverhampton Racecourse

Welcome to our official guide to Wolverhampton Racecourse.

We explore this busy and popular all-weather flat racecourse in detail, looking at its history, hotel picks, fixtures, travel information and even the weather.

Find out more about Wolverhampton Racecourse today:

Overview of Wolverhampton Racecourse

Wolverhampton Racecourse is the busiest course in Britain – hosting over 80 race days a year and other assorted events, too!

The racecourse, on-site hotel, restaurants, bars and conference and exhibition centre make this one of the region’s most important events venues.

Wolverhampton Racecourse (Dunstall Park) is situated about a mile north of the city centre, and this proximity to local facilities, amenities and transport links makes it easily attended by many.

Wolverhampton’s claim-to-fame is that it was the first racecourse in the country to have a floodlit track.

Evening meets remain popular today and once you’ve been to one, you’ll understand why – it’s easy to feel the magic of the sport under dazzling lights through dusk! Many evening races are followed by live music performances, further cementing the course as one of the West Midlands’ favourite venues.

Wolverhampton Racecourse has a Tapeta surface; an American synthetic material made of sand, fibre, rubber and wax. The only other racecourse in the UK to have this surface is Newcastle Racecourse – all others are based in the US!

Indeed, Wolverhampton Racecourse has much more in common with American racecourses than British ones: it is one mile in circumference with left-hand turns in an extremely tight oval course.

Wolverhampton Racecourse has been extensively redeveloped over the years and this work is set to continue. Future plans put to Wolverhampton City Council include seeking planning permission to extend the on-site hotel to almost quadruple its current capacity, to tarmac new car park areas and to open a casino, which would be the UK’s first racino (another very Americanised introduction!)

Alongside a busy exhibition centre and spaces for weddings and private occasions, Wolverhampton Racecourse has truly become one of the most important prestigious venues in the local area for the community there.

Wolverhampton Racecourse History

Horse racing can be traced back in Wolverhampton as far as 1825, and on its current site (Dunstall Park) from August 1888.

National Hunt racing was actually the most popular form of the sport to be held at Wolverhampton Racecourse but ceased when an all-weather surface was installed in place of its existing sand.

Much of Wolverhampton Racecourse’s redevelopment has been fairly recent.

In 1993, the course had its floodlights installed and was re-opened as Britain’s first floodlit track by HRH Queen Elizabeth II the next year.

In 2001, fibresand was installed as a new track surface, but this only lasted three years before being replaced by Polytrack. This replacement proved to be controversial, and after several incidences on the track, was investigated. Although it was ruled to be safe, the Polytrack was in 2014 replaced with Tapeta; at the time, as the first UK track to be.

Today, Wolverhampton Racecourse is owned and operated by the Arena Racing Company, who continue to develop and invest into the site and its facilities. As the largest racecourse managing group in the UK, they know a thing or two about successful venues and will no doubt continue to nurture and develop the sport.

Check out our Wolverhampton Racecourse Guide review video:

The Main Races and Events Held at Wolverhampton Racecourse

Given Wolverhampton Racecourse’s jam-packed racing calendar, there’s plenty of events to choose from, but the ‘main’ ones here are simply the most attended.

The All-Weather Championships has been run here for over twenty years and is designed for trainers to keep their horses active over the winter months. Six competitive categories see a wide variety of horses hit the track, so there’s truly something for everyone to enjoy.

Wolverhampton Racecourse’s Boxing Day Racing is a fixture in many family festivities and often attracts the largest crowds in the UK on the 26^th of December. All usual hospitality options are available but with a seasonal twist, so this is a popular treat for those looking to do something a little different with their holiday break.

Wolverhampton Racecourse Map

Check out the Wolverhampton Racecourse map below:

The course is a flat, left-handed circuit of just under a mile in length.

The bends are fairly sharp and tight, with a relatively short home straight of under two furlongs. This means that it tends to favour speedy horses who can hold a position close to the pace, as opposed to those who need time to find a full stride.

Wolverhampton Racecourse Address

The official address for Wolverhampton Racecourse is:

Wolverhampton Racecourse
Dunstall Park
Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV6 0PE

How To Get To Wolverhampton Racecourse

The ways to get to Wolverhampton Racecourse is:

• By foot – the course is walking distance from Wolverhampton city centre but is off a dual carriageway, so it’s easiest to reach by road.
• By car – there are over 1500 free car parking spaces on the site and frequent buses and coaches serving the course. The official info for your sat nav is Wolverhampton Racecourse, Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton, WV6 0PE.
• By trains – trains run regularly to Wolverhampton from Birmingham, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester.
• By Air – for air travel, Birmingham International Airport is some 25 miles away and the on-course helipad is available for arranged landings.

Hotels Near Wolverhampton Racecourse

There’s no need to walk the mile to Wolverhampton city centre to stay the night – Wolverhampton Racecourse has its own hotel on-site!

The Holiday Inn Express Wolverhampton Racecourse offers a variety of room packages and some even include hospitality options on race days at the course. There are only 52 rooms on-site at the moment, but this is set to be expanded to 170 in the next few years. Should the Holiday Inn Express Wolverhampton Racecourse be fully booked, you’ll find branches of Premier Inn, Novotel, Ramada Jarvis, Travelodge, Best Western and Mercure all in the city centre.

Betting Shops Local to Wolverhampton Racecourse

Betting shops can be found in all enclosures at Wolverhampton and there are Tote facilities alongside independent bookmakers who can be found by the side of the rails and track.

As this isn’t a countryside racecourse, you’ll find a mobile signal to be strong, so online betting is also an option should you fancy a flutter but forget your wallet.

In Wolverhampton city centre, there are not hundreds of options of betting shops, but branches of Betfred, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Paddypower can all be found locally.

What Are The Best Wolverhampton Online Betting Sites?

At British Racecourses we often recommend betting online and via apps. This is because you can often get the best odds, great offers when signing up and you can place bets quickly and safely without having to queue.

If you are looking to bet online we recommend the following great deals:

bet365 Horse Racing



888 Horse Racing



Betfred Horse Racing



Coral Horse Racing



Mr Green Racing



Ladbrokes Horse Racing



William Hill Horse Racing



Unibet Horse Racing



BetVictor Horse Racing

For more information on these best horse racing betting sites check out our reviews and our betting comparison page.

Wolverhampton Racecourse Weather

Here’s the current weather forecast for Wolverhampton Racecourse, help you plan what to wear to the races:

WOLVERHAMPTON WEATHER

Wolverhampton 2022 Fixtures

The current Wolverhampton race meetings for 2022 are:

• Fri, 14th January 2022
• Mon, 17th January 2022
• Sat, 22nd January 2022
• Mon, 24th January 2022
• Fri, 28th January 2022
• Mon, 31st January 2022
• Tue, 1st February 2022
• Mon, 7th February 2022
• Sat, 12th February 2022
• Mon, 14th February 2022
• Fri, 25th February 2022
• Mon, 28th February 2022
• Mon, 7th March 2022
• Tue, 8th March 2022
• Fri, 11th March 2022
• Sat, 12th March 2022
• Sat, 2nd April 2022
• Sat, 9th April 2022
• Tue, 12th April 2022
• Mon, 18th April 2022
• Tue, 19th April 2022
• Sat, 23rd April 2022
• Wed, 27th April 2022
• Fri, 29th April 2022
• Fri, 6th May 2022
• Mon, 9th May 2022
• Tue, 17th May 2022
• Thu, 19th May 2022
• Mon, 23rd May 2022
• Mon, 8th August 2022
• Fri, 12th August 2022
• Tue, 16th August 2022
• Fri, 19th August 2022
• Wed, 31st August 2022
• Sat, 3rd September 2022
• Tue, 13th September 2022
• Sat, 17th September 2022
• Mon, 19th September 2022
• Tue, 27th September 2022
• Sat, 1st October 2022
• Sat, 15th October 2022
• Mon, 17th October 2022
• Thu, 20th October 2022
• Sat, 29th October 2022
• Mon, 31st October 2022
• Mon, 7th November 2022
• Fri, 11th November 2022
• Sat, 12th November 2022
• Mon, 28th November 2022
• Tue, 29th November 2022
• Sat, 3rd December 2022
• Mon, 5th December 2022
• Sat, 10th December 2022
• Mon, 12th December 2022
• Tue, 13th December 2022
• Sun, 18th December 2022
• Wed, 21st December 2022
• Mon, 26th December 2022

Wolverhampton Racecard and Wolverhampton Race Results

The racecards for Wolverhampton races will be released the day before the races are set to happen (Wolverhampton races tomorrow). You can view full racecards in advance, check out  – tomorrow’s horse racing meetings and today’s horse racing meetings. In these, you will get an advance look at all the runners, trainers, form and riders.

You can also of course purchase a racecard from the track which carries much of the same useful information. Many like to keep these as souvenirs, especially from big horse racing events.

Other Events Held at Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton Racecourse has a licence to perform civil weddings and is a really popular venue to do so at, as well as funerals, wakes, birthdays and big celebrations.

The conferencing centre is booked almost year-round for business exhibitions and meetings, and the course itself is frequently used for live music and tribute acts.

Summary of Wolverhampton Racecourse

Wolverhampton is a popular racecourse and the busiest in the UK. That doesn’t detract from it being a special night out and it’s popular with locals and those on a fun night out.

The AW Championship are very popular and certainly worth a visit.

Close to the lively town city, it’s a racecourse we hold dear, and an important track for racing in the UK.

It’s definitely worth a visit.

Other UK & Irish Racecourses

Our team as of September 2022 have reviewed these racecourse that are also definitely worth a visit:

Don’t forget to check out our racing blog or exciting news!