It came close to closing within months of first opening, was transformed into an RAF base during World War Two and has staged various music concerts, but this month marks a century of horse racing at Chepstow Racecourse.

The track was the brainchild of 10 local dignitaries who put their money together to purchase 370 undulating acres of picturesque Monmouthsire parkland.

Since opening its doors to about 20,000 spectators in August 1926 for its inaugural meeting, Chepstow has welcomed royalty, Wellington bombers and musicians including Tom Jones.

It has also hosted the richest race in Wales – the Welsh Grand National – for more than 70 years.

BBC Sport Wales recalls the major events at the south east Wales venue, where new milestones continue to be set.

Lords Tredegar, Glanely and Queenborough helped pay for the near-two-mile course on what was Piercefield Park.

Lord Harewood’s Conca D’Oro won that first race a century ago before the first jumps meeting held a year later.

Financial concerns almost saw the course fail to survive the first 10 years before steadily establishing itself one of only a handful of courses that hosts both flat and jumps action all year round.

Former Welsh jump jockey Alan Johns says the course has wide appeal among riders.

“Unanimously, Chepstow is loved by jockeys,” he said.

“It’s what we call a big galloping track so it has really long straights, big sweeping bends and generally that means the best horse wins.

“It probably has the the nicest fences in Britain, horses tend to jump very well here.

“The Aintree Grand National, the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and the Welsh Grand National would be in that sort of breath.”

Memorable Chepstow moments have included the Welsh Grand National winner that inspired a Hollywood film, a jockey’s world record 12 consecutive wins and another home-favourite winner of the Welsh National.

No rider has managed to match the achievements of champion jockey Sir Gordon Richards who, in October 1933, followed victory in Nottingham with six out of six the next day in Chepstow before adding five more a day later at the same meeting. That run of 12 wins remains a world record., external

But perhaps the biggest fairytale was the remarkable return from injury of Dream Alliance, a horse raised on an allotment near Blackwood by Janet Vokes and owned by a syndicate of friends all paying £10 a week.

In 2008, the horse suffered a severed leg tendon, an injury that under many owners might have led to a horse being put down. But the syndicate refused to give up, paying £20,000 for pioneering stem-cell treatment.

Dream Alliance returned to action and repaid their faith as jockey Tom O’Brien rode the then eight-year-old to Welsh Grand National glory in 2009 at odds of 20-1.

The story was perfect for Hollywood, with Dream Horse released in 2021 starring Toni Collette and Damian Lewis.

Since 1949, the highlight of Chepstow’s callendar has been the Welsh Grand National, traditionally held during the Christmas festive period.

The race has grown in stature with Bindaree, Corbiere, Earth Summit, Rag Trade and Silver Birch among those to complete the Aintree and Chepstow double.

Meanwhile Burrough Hill Lad, Cool Ground, Master Oats and Native River have proven their pedigree at Chepstow before Cheltenham Gold Cup glory.

One of the most memorable modern occasions came when Welsh-trained Haiti Couleurs won the 2025 edition of the the Welsh Grand National in front of a passionate home crowd.

The horse was trained by Pembrokeshire-based Rebecca Curtis and ridden by champion jockey Sean Bowen.

“As a Welsh jockey or a Welsh person in racing, it’s one of the races at the very top of the list to be involved in,” added Johns.

Among plans for the future of Chepstow is a three-day jump racing festival which organisers hope will offer an “intimate” alternative to the Cheltenham Festival.

The Welsh Racing Festival was first held last October to launch British National Hunt season.

But for now, racecourse executive director Luke Admans is happy to celebrate the past at a centenary dinner at Chepstow on Thursday.

“I wanted to do something that was going to pay tribute to the 100 years of the racecourse and all the effort it took to get the racecourse open and the work that everyone’s done [in that time] to make it such an amazing venue,” he said.

“We’ve got an amazing team. We have a lady who’s been working in the annual members area for 53 years and a couple of guys on the grounds team that have been here more than 40 years.

“It’s one of them places that I think you come and you fall in love with working here which is amazing and the staff are a tribute to the venue.”