Leicester Racecourse is a horse-racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, England. The course is oval shaped and nearly 2 miles in extent. It was opened in 1883. Before 1883 Leicester Races, which had been run since 1773, were held at what is now Victoria Park, closer to the town centre. The course hosts both forms of British horse racing event: National Hunt, in which the horses race over fences or over hurdles, and Flat racing, in which the horses run an unobstructed distance.