I’m just wondering, why are so many (if not all) race tracks for horses called something-or-other “Downs”???
A friend told me it was because that’s where you go to put your bet “down” on a horse, anyone know for sure?
Don’t know if this helps but for what it’s worth:
Merriam-Webster
Etymology: Middle English doun hill, from Old English dun
Date: 14th century
1 : an undulating usually treeless upland with sparse soil – usually used in plural
Maybe they raced a lot in these places way back when and the name stuck. I dunno…looks good to me.
In reference to Jeff_42’s post, my WAG is that this type of land isn’t suitable for farming and so was used as pasture land for livestock (such as horses). What better place to race a horse than where it is at already?