The Mystique of Hippodrome Wellington

The Mystique of Hippodrome Wellington

By Aoi Sakurai
The Daily Dash
October 9, 2023

The Hippodrome Wellington (also Wellingtonrenbaan) is a horse racing track in Ostend in the Flemish Region of Belgium built in 1883, renovated in 2011 and named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

The facility hosts both harness and flat racing events. Starting at the end of June, there's a race day every Monday (until September). Notable among its flat races for Thoroughbred horses was the Grand Prix Prince Rose held annually in July on the Nationale feestdag. Formerly known as the Grand International d'Ostende, it was renamed to honor the great Belgian horse, Prince Rose.

The venue hosted concerts by artists like Michael Jackson (1997), David Bowie (2002) and Bon Jovi (2003) and the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

In 2004 the center of the race track was converted into a golf course named Wellington Golf Oostende.. It holds 4 golf holes of the total of 9. The golf course is -as you can imagine- closed on race days.

The Royal Galleries of Ostend were built to link the track to King Leopold II of Belgium's villa, allowing the king and his guests to travel between the two without being inconvenienced by rain or wind.