BATH

Bath racecourse’s claim to fame is that at 780 feet (238 m) above sea level, it is Britain's highest Flat racecourse, although National Hunt courses Hexham and Exeter are higher. The first major race meeting at Bath racecourse was held in 1811, and originally there was just one meeting a year at the course, lasting for two days, but gradually over the years, the number of meetings increased to its present level. In 1953, Bath racecourse was the site of a criminal plot surrounding the Spa selling plate. Having two horses that looked almost identical, the gang substituted a good horse for a poor one. They bet heavily on the substituted horse and damaged the power supply to the racecourse, which prevented the bookmakers from changing the odds which remained at 10-1. The horse won the race and the gang would have profited highly had not racing officials become suspicious and called in Scotland Yard. Bath’s most notable races are the Lansdown Fillies’ Stakes in April and the Beckford Stakes in October.