Wroclaw Racecourse became the latest Associate Member of the Crystal Cup for 2016, becoming a full member in 2017. Competitors taking part in the Crystal Cup Steeplechase in 2016 did not score points in the Crystal Cup series.

Wroclaw Racecourse, designed by R. Jurgens of Hamburg, opened in 1907 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Silesian Horse Breeders’ and Horse Racing Association. It replaced a racecourse at Szczytniki (wehere the Centennial Hall is situated today) which was founded in 1833.

In interwar Poland Wroclaw Racecourse enjoyed great popularity among racegoers, and horse races were held here even during the Second World War – until 1941. After the war the racecourse re-opened in 1952 when it staged an exhibition race as part of an equestrian show. In July 1953 the first regular racing season after World War II started, and in the following years the number of horses grew constantly.

Initially, Arab horses domintated the scene and all major races for this breed took place in Wroclaw. Poland’s greatest jockey, Mieczyslaw Melnicki, made his debut in one of those Arab horse races in Wroclaw. At that time the racecourse was very popular among racegoers, not only locally; there was no off-track betting yet and crowds of racefans from Upper Silesia poured into Wroclaw.