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,
Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States, with a capacity of 50,000. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actually the fourth oldest racetrack in the US (after 3rd oldest Pleasanton Fairgrounds Racetrack, 2nd oldest Fair Grounds Race Course, and oldest Freehold Raceway). Saratoga Springs was the site of standardbred racing as early as 1847. On August 3, 1863, casino operator and future congressman John Morrissey organized the first