Hipódromo do Cristal

It seems that in Brazil every time they look for a place to build a racetrack they look for a spot near a river (just kidding!).

This is Porto Alegre´s racetrack, inaugurated in 1959 it has a 1928m dirt oval with a 700m straight, a 1600m chute off the backstretch and a 1900m chute off the clubhouse turn. It also has an inner turf oval with two far turns, with the larger oval measuring 1780m.


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Hipodromo Los Comuneros

This is the local racetrack in Medellin, Colombia. It is a regular dirt oval with one chute in each turn, the one in the far turn for 1800m races and the one in the clubhouse turn for 1100m races. The total length of the oval is of 1280m, and curiously it doesn´t have an inner track.


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Cidade Jardim

This is the racetrack of the São Paulo Jockey Club. It´s main turf oval has a circumference of over 2100m, with a 1000m straight course and a 2000m backstretch chute. The inner dirt track has a circumference of just under 2000m, and it also has a shorter far turn. There is also an irregular oval inside dirt track which is used only for training.


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Also, here you can see a beautiful night shot of the racetrack.

Hipodromo de La Plata

This will be a straightforward post, so, this is in La Plata, in Argentina.

Track surface: Dirt
Track Circumference: 2050m
Chute: 1700m


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Since there is no chute in the far turn the sprints are run at least at 1100m and not less, since that involves starting in the turn itself. Also, there are no races between 1700m and 2100m. Which are, indeed, not-so-common distances.

Hipodromo Independencia

This is a dirt oval located in Rosario, Argentina. It has an oval of around 1785m, with chutes for 1000m, 1600m, 1700m, and one that looks like it measures 2350m, so I guess they use it for 2300m races. It is interesting to see how the racetrack is the only park in the middle of a big city.


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Clairwood Racecourse

This is another southafrican racecourse, in Durban. It is a turf left-handed track with a 1200m straight course and an oval measuring around 2600m, thought it´s not actually a perfect oval since the far turn is bigger and more "square" thatn the clubhouse turn, which also isn´t symmetrical. At the top of the backstretch the distance is 2000m, so I guess that´s where they start those races.



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Hipodromo Nacional de Maroñas

This is my hometown main racetrack. It is a large (2065 metres) oval, with four chutes, the one in the stretch is for 750m (3 3/4 furlong) races and for the big 2800m (14 furlong) Gran Premio de Honor G.II Stakes, which is run in the spring. Also there is a 1300m (6 1/2 furlong) chute along the far turn, a 1800m (9 furlong) chute along the backstretch and a 2000m (10 furlong) chute on the clubhouse turn. There is an inside dirt training track, and you can see the remains of the third track that was wiped out during the remodelation work that took place 6 years ago.

This track was closed from 1997 until 2003, when it was reopened. It is the main racing venue in Uruguay, and one of the most important in South America. Races are run every saturday and sunday throughout the year.

UPDATE: Maroñas added an inner Turf oval, measuring a little less than 2000m, with a 1600m inner chute on the backstretch.


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