Club Hípico de Santiago, Horse racing venue and Historical Monument in Santiago, Chile
Club Hípico de Santiago is a horse racing facility in Chile's capital with a 2,400-meter turf track that curves to the right. Surrounding the track are gardens, fountains, and ponds, while a large multi-level building overlooks the races and provides space for spectators and events.
Founded in 1869 by Chilean racing enthusiasts, the club held its first race on 20 September 1870 and in 1873 ran El Ensayo, Latin America's oldest stakes race. A fire destroyed the original wooden grandstands in 1892; the present building, designed by Josué Smith Solar after the Longchamp racecourse in Paris, was inaugurated on 7 April 1923.
The name El Ensayo ("The Rehearsal") marks the race first run here in 1873, the oldest stakes race in Latin America and part of Chile's Triple Crown. The club's Stud Book, kept since 1895, records every thoroughbred entered, and mutual betting was regulated in 1897. Race days still draw presidents, ambassadors and foreign royals, as they did when Theodore Roosevelt and Queen Elizabeth II visited.
Race days fall on Fridays, every other Monday and some Sundays, and cards are long by international standards, usually around 18 races. During Holy Week the Friday meeting moves to Maundy Thursday. The turf course runs right-handed, about 2,400 m, with a 2,100 m sand track inside it.
The Clásico El Ensayo, first run in 1873 over 2,400 metres for three-year-olds, is the oldest stakes race in Latin America and part of Chile's Triple Crown with the St. Leger and the Derby at Valparaíso Sporting. The club has also hosted the Gran Premio Latinoamericano four times: 1988, 1995, 2010 and 2019.
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