Great Leighs once had a lion's head over the outlet. In 2008, Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue. Great Leighs Racecourse held its first race meeting on 20 April 2008 and staged its first meeting fully open to the public from 28 to 29 May 2008. However, the course had its temporary licence revoked on 16 January 2009 and did not seen racing again unto 11 January 2015. Great Leighs Great Leighs is a village in the City of Chelmsford district of Essex,
Taunton Racecourse Great Leighs hosted its first race in 2008, followed the subsequent year by Ffos Las. Taunton is a right-handed oval track, with two long straights and two tight bends. The course is 1mile and 2furlongs (2.01km) in length, and has both fences and open ditches to negotiate. The course was improved during the building of the M5 motorway, with the removed earth being used to extend the back straight and the bends. Taunton Racecourse Taunton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Orchard Portman, two miles south of Taunton, Somerset, England. Opened in 1927, Taunton is the youngest