The course was just under 1.5 miles in circumference, and races were held over distances from 2 to 3 miles. The course split into two separate tracks in the back straight, with the hurdle track, which was quite sharp, staying on the valley floor. The steeplechase track climbed the hillside and was substantially longer, and a sterner test of stamina. The water jump was the middle of three fences in the home straight and was bypassed on the final circuit. The course had a dramatic downhill section with a sharp left turn at the bottom into the straight which was parallel to the river. The turn led jockey Gerry Scott in the Sporting Life to describe Rothbury as his least favourite racecourse.
