Top 8 U.K. Racecourses And What Makes Them Special

Horse Racing :: Everything Horse :: Top U.K. Racecourses Revealed

The horse racing events in the U.K. are celebrated all-year-round, and most of them are huge and grand. Some areas in the U.K. that commemorate horse racing shows include England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland. These places have the most number of horse racing events that you can witness.

In line with that, there are around 60 National and racecourses found in Great Britain. All of them have their own distinction, and some are even large and legendary. With this, the horse racing show in the United Kingdom continues to grow bigger every year. That’s why many punters are looking forward to wagering in these types of races.

As such, the massive racecourses in Great Britain have also paved the way of making their horse racing event more notable. Hence, let’s give you the U.K’s top racecourses and what makes them special.

Cheltenham

If the United States has the Kentucky Derby at www.tvg.com that takes place at Churchill Downs, then the United Kingdom has Cheltenham racecourse. It is the largest and the grandest racecourses in the United Kingdom. It showcases the best of National Hunt Racing for the entire Great Britain territory.

It lies in the Cotswolds with 350-acre land area. The said racecourse was inaugurated in 1815 and has grown tremendously until today, attracting around 68,000 horse racing fans every year. It highlights the Cheltenham Festival that runs for four days and celebrates fourteen different types of Grade 1 stakes races.

Ascot

Another legendary racecourse found in the U.K. is the Ascot. This horse racing venue holds 26 days of racing shows which includes nine Flat races in Group 1. The entire racing field is a combination of National Hunt Fixtures and Flat Racing events.

Queen Anne established the Ascot racecourse in 1711, where the main highlight takes place during summer. It holds a 5-day racing show that does not only showcase horse racing events, but also includes entertainment, sporting activities, and fine dining.

New Market

This racecourse in the U.K. is often labelled as the “Home Of Racing” because of the rich history it holds when it comes to stretching, racing, and breeding horses in the past three centuries. It comes in two main racecourses which are saddled up in different seasons – the July Course and Rowley Mile.

The Rowley Mile serves as the kick-off season of the New Market succeeded by the July Course. Typically, the grand racing shows take place in this venue from June to August every year.

York

York racecourse is considered as the best tourist attraction in the whole territory of Yorkshire. It is awarded as Britain’s “Best Racecourse” four times. One of the historic attractions you can see in this racecourse is the archaeological evidence of horse racing that began in 1530.

Being considered as Great Britain’s premier racecourses, York commemorates Flat racing events during the summer season. It features the Ebor Festival where you can see total glitz and glamour from many distinguished horse racing enthusiasts.

Aintree

Aintree racecourse is where the Grand National settles. It lies in West England right in the middle of Liverpool. The Grand National that takes place at Aintree every year began in 1839 and considered as the longest jump racing event in the whole United Kingdom.

Every year, the Grand National attracts around 70, 000 crowds and viewers. That said, this event is considered as the largest horse racing show in Great Britain.

Doncaster

Doncaster is another notable racecourse you can find in Yorkshire that features National Hunt racing and Flat racing events. It normally showcases around 36 horse race meetings every year. The Flat season is the kick-off racing event, and Doncaster serves as the culminating activity.

Also, the Lincoln racing show takes place in this racecourse every April and closed by St. Leger Stakes in September.

Goodwood

Goodwood is located in the Southern part of Great Britain that hosts the Glorious Goodwood Festival annually. It also features around 13 Group racing shows all-year-round. The thing that makes this racecourse special is the overlooking backdrop and distinctive track waves.

Haydock

The Haydock racecourse park is one of the two racing fields you can find in Merseyside. It has a dual purpose racetrack that hosts various flat racing shows, and quality jumps every year. The Betfair Chase is the biggest event that settles in this racecourse which takes place every November every year.

Betfair Chase serves as the first racing leg for the U.K.’s Triple Crown chase followed by King Geroge Stakes at Kempton and Cheltenham Gold Cup. There is also a Sprint Cup that settles at Haydock which takes place every September.

Takeaway

Undeniably, there are lots of racecourses that you can find in the U.K. that serve as the home of many legendary horse racing events. So, if you plan to take part in the U.K. horse racing shows, make sure to include the racecourse listed above in your bucket list to get the best of what U.K. horse racing has to offer.