Doncaster is one of the fairest tracks in Britain - but here's what that really means for punters
Betting editor Keith Melrose examines the straight course on Town Moor

It's a favourite dad joke of mine that one day I'd like to start a travelogue, or probably a podcast these days, called 'If it was up north you'd never have heard of it', where I visit all the parts of southern England that are nice but ultimately overrated by dint of their proximity to London.
Or maybe I should just quote former Doncaster clerk of the course Roderick Duncan. On a January Friday a few years back, the day before Great Yorkshire Chase day at his track and Trials day at Cheltenham, Duncan pronounced with equal parts pride and frustration: "If you're going past here to get to Cheltenham tomorrow, you must be off your head."
Doncaster may be the least loved of all Britain's heritage tracks. It hosts a Classic, bookends the Flat season and has the second-best two-year-old race in the country. If it were situated further south, chances are it would be celebrated much more.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inKeith Melrose
Last updated
- Epsom's quirks laid bare - and they point to a well-drawn, last-time-out winner with lots going for him
- One Royal Ascot race has been turned upside down by big changes to two-year-old programme - this is what it means for punters
- The numbers that show how Dan Skelton finally won the title - and that the Willie Mullins production line is slowing down
- How a reader's question led to exploding one of Aintree's longest-held myths
- Aintree may favour speed but it also takes plenty of getting - and Ruby Walsh didn't call me a clown for saying so
- Epsom's quirks laid bare - and they point to a well-drawn, last-time-out winner with lots going for him
- One Royal Ascot race has been turned upside down by big changes to two-year-old programme - this is what it means for punters
- The numbers that show how Dan Skelton finally won the title - and that the Willie Mullins production line is slowing down
- How a reader's question led to exploding one of Aintree's longest-held myths
- Aintree may favour speed but it also takes plenty of getting - and Ruby Walsh didn't call me a clown for saying so
