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Rescued 2 archive links; reformat 2 links. Wayback Medic 2.5

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2017}}
[[File:Udagamandalam-Ooty-race-course.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Race course view]]
[[File:Race club ooty.jpg|right|thumb|200px|view of Race course, Ooty]]
'''Ooty Racecourse''' is a highland race course in [[Ooty]], [[The Nilgiris District|The Nilgiris]], [[Tamil Nadu]]. Built for summer racing in the hills, the course stands at an altitude of 2,268 m above sea level. The race course is adjacent to the railway station in the heart of town.

In its more than 100 years of remarkable history, the famous Ooty course has witnessed many rare distinctions. "I have been a keen follower of the Ooty racing since the mid-sixties. One of the memorable events the historic course witnessed was M A M Ramaswamy winning the 'Nilgiri Derby' through his ward 'Great Spectacle' thus achieving a double century in the classics, a racing Guinness record, on May 7, 1995," says K Bheeman, a racing enthusiast and Nilgiris resident.
The 1980s saw a tremendous boost — the golden age of Ooty racing — when the racing season would stretch until June. Racing became the lifeline of the Blue Mountains and thousands of summer jobs were linked to the stay of professionals, besides tourism.

Horse races are conducted in the summer season, from April to June, when it has been traditional to come to the hill station to escape the summer heat. The course occupies over 55 acres in the centre of Ooty. The course is about 2.4  km long, and is one of the most famous race courses in India. The main event of the racing season is "The Nilgiri Gold Cup Race", a traditional and popular race. To commemorate 125 years of racing in this hill station, a special race for "The Post Centenary Silver Jubilee Cup" was run in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article1989919.ece?css=print|title=Lucky draw to mark Ooty racing milestone|author=D. Radhakrishnan|date=2011-05-04|access-date=2011-09-14|work=The Hindu}}</ref> and creating a garden is under discussion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/15/stories/2011041554030500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418195113/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/15/stories/2011041554030500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-04-18|title=Beauty of race course to be enhanced |date=2011-04-15|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/14/stories/2011041450760200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418112133/http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/14/stories/2011041450760200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-04-18|title=Ooty waits for the race to begin|author=D. Radhakrishnan|date=2011-04-14|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaandindians.com/tamilnadu/nilgris/ooty.php|title=Ooty Horse Racing|publisher=indiaandindians.com|access-date=2011-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905055600/http://www.indiaandindians.com/tamilnadu/nilgris/ooty.php|archive-date=5 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/tamil-nadu/ooty-udhagamandalam/activities/racing/racecourse|title=Ooty (Udhagamandalam): Racecourse
|publisher=lonelyplanet.com|access-date=2011-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.india9.com/i9show/Ooty-Race-Course-47265.htm|title=Ooty Race Course|publisher=india9.com|date=2005-06-07|access-date=2011-09-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sport/races/article1702221.ece|title=An important milestone in the Ooty racing season|author=D. Radhakrishnan|date=2011-04-17|access-date=2011-09-14|work=The Hindu}}</ref>

A fire occurred at the race course in March 2011, believed to have been started by a cigarette butt, but was put out without harm to the horses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-12/coimbatore/28683606_1_ooty-fire-station-officer-horses|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927050410/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-12/coimbatore/28683606_1_ooty-fire-station-officer-horses|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-27|title=Fire at Ooty race course, horses safe|date=2011-03-12|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=2011-09-22}}</ref>

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{YouTube|id=O9iMuTMWOaA|title=125-Year-Old Horse Race Begins in Southern India}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Tourism in The Nilgiris}}

{{coord missing|Tamil Nadu}}

[[Category:Tourist attractions in Nilgiris district]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Ooty]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Ooty]]
[[Category:Culture of Ooty]]

Ooty Racecourse - Revision history

->GreenC bot: Rescued 2 archive links; reformat 2 links. Wayback Medic 2.5