the 20th century, it was said that "time has only strengthened and confirmed the national passion for the sport." Concerns over its moral effects were prevalent though. An interest in horse racing and the attendant gambling was described as the "offspring of a passion we should wish to disown", with a warning that "the modern turf is fast becoming the very manor of the worst". 20th century to date In 1947 Hamilton hosted the first evening race meeting in the UK. Now Wolverhampton Racecourse holds the most evening meetings, with nearly 50 a year. The Jockey Club governed the sport until its governance role was handed to the British Horseracing Board, (formed in June 1993) and while the BHB became responsible for strategic planning, finance, politics, race planning, training and marketing, the Jockey Club continued to regulate the sport. In 2006 it formed the Horseracing Regulatory Authority to carry out the regulatory process whilst it focused on owning 13 racecourses and the gallops in Newmarket and Lambourn. In July 2007 the HRA merged with the BHB to form the British Horseracing Authority. Racecourses There are 60 licensed racecourses in Great Britain, with a further two in Northern Ireland (Down Royal and Downpatrick). Apart from Chelmsford City and Ffos Las (which opened in 2009), all the courses date back to 1927 or earlier. The oldest is Chester Racecourse, which dates to the early 16th century. Unlike some other countries, which include the United States, racing in Britain usually takes place on turf. However, there are six courses which have all-weather tracks – Kempton Park, Lingfield, Southwell, Wolverhampton, Chelmsford City and Newcastle. Southwell's surface is Fibresand. Wolverhampton installed a Tapeta surface in August 2014, replacing the existing Polytrack; Newcastle converted its Gosforth Park flat racing turf track to a Tapeta course with the addition of a floodlit all-weather straight mile in May 2016. All flat racing at Newcastle now takes place on the Tapeta surface with a turf course retained solely for a winter programme of jumps racing. The other three British all-weather tracks are all Polytrack. Ireland has a single all-weather Polytrack course at Dundalk. Courses also vary wildly in layout. There are very few which are regular ovals, as is the typical layout of other countries like the United States. Each course has its own idiosyncrasies, and horses are known to be more suited to some tracks than others, hence