Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final meeting here was in 1870. In 1872, Redcar Racecourse as it stands today was opened with a Grandstand erected in 1876. Between 1913 and 1923, Redcar F.C. was based at the racecourse. During the
First World War and the
Second World War the racecourse was used as both an airfield and an army camp. In 1945 after the Second World War, Major Leslie Petch
OBE managed the racecourse and revamped the neglected course. Redcar was the first racecourse in the UK to have both a timing clock and furlong posts. Under Petch's stewardship, a new grandstand was erected in 1964. This stand is still at the racecourse today. Following his retirement, the Zetland family took control of the racecourse.
Lord Zetland introduced the
Two-Year-Old Trophy race. Notable winners of this most lucrative race at Redcar include
Pipalong, Captain Rio,
Somnus and
Limato.{{cite web|url=https://www.attheraces.com/results/Redcar|title=Redcar Horse Racing Results Zetland sold part of the Redcar Racecourse land to supermarket chain,
Safeway, for £3.6 million in order to finance major developments on the racecourse including new stables.{{cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Redcar+anticipates+interest+in+assets.-a062539931|title=Redcar anticipates interest in assets. On 30 July 1980, prolific owner
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum had his first winner in the UK with Mushref.{{cite web|url=https://www.redcarracing.co.uk/news/redcar-joins-tributes-hamdan-al-maktoum-whose-success-story-began-seaside-track/|title=Redcar joins tributes to Hamdan Al Maktoum whose success story began at the seaside track In 1996, International Racecourse Management took control of the racecourse. The nephew of Major Leslie Petch, John Sanderson, became chairman in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://irmracing.com/aboutus.html|title=Who We Are ==Course==