Horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in Great Britain, and one of the longest established, with a history dating back many centuries. According to a report by the British Horseracing Authority it generates £3.39 billion total direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy, of which £1.05 Billion is from core racing industry expenditure and the major horse racing events such as Royal Ascot and Cheltenham Festival are important dates in the British and international sporting and society calendar.
Sky Sports Racing is a British pay television channel devoted to horse racing. A joint venture between Sky Group and Arena Racing Company, it broadcasts coverage of domestic, European and international horse racing events.
Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of the city centre.
Warwick Racecourse is a horse racing course in Warwick, England. It is a National Hunt racing course and has a programme of 25 meetings throughout the year, many of which are televised. The first stand was built in 1808, and its most recent redevelopment was completed in 2018. In the racecourse is a nine-hole golf course and a golf driving range. The area is a popular place for local people to walk their dogs. There is parking next to the course and it is a five-minute walk away from the town centre. Yes
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, near the border with Greater London; it is 16 miles south-west of Charing Cross in central London. The site has 210 acres of flat grassland surrounded by woodland with two lakes in its centre. Its entrance borders Kempton Park railway station which was created for racegoers on a branch line from London Waterloo, via Clapham Junction.
Ayr Racecourse at Whitletts Road, Ayr, Scotland, was opened in 1907. There are courses for flat and for National Hunt racing.
Doncaster Racecourse is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.
Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates back to the early sixteenth century, with 1539 cited as the year racing began, although some sources give a date of 1512 for the first races in Chester. It is also thought to be the smallest racecourse of significance in England at 1 mile and 1 furlong (1.8 km) long.
A point-to-point is a form of horse racing over fences for hunting horses and amateur riders. In Ireland, where the sport is open to licensed professional trainers, many of the horses will appear in these races before they compete in National Hunt races. Consequently, the Irish point-to-point tends to be used as a nursery for future young stars: a horse that wins its debut point-to-point in Ireland will often sell for a high price. Whilst professional trainers are specifically excluded from running horses in point-to-points in Great Britain, the days of the farmer running his hunter at the local point-to-point are gone.. Increasingly, horses are run from "livery yards" - unlicensed but otherwise professional training establishments, sometimes closely allied with a licensed yard.
Uttoxeter Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England.
Bath Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue on Lansdown Hill, about 3+1⁄4 miles (5.2 km) northeast of Bath, Somerset, England. It is owned and operated by Arena Racing Company.
Carlisle Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in the village of Blackwell just outside Carlisle in Cumbria, England. The course has been on its present site since 1904, when it moved there from the area known as The Swifts close to the centre of Carlisle. The course is 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2.41 km) in circumference, right-handed, and hosts flat racing in the summer and National Hunt racing over the winter months. The last half mile is up a steep incline. The going can get very heavy in the winter.
Chepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing course located just north of the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, near the southern end of the Wye Valley and close to the border with England. It is one of 16 racecourses operated by the Arena Racing Company and is home of the richest race in Wales, the Coral Welsh Grand National.
Fakenham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located south of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. King Charles III is patron.
Musselburgh Racecourse is a horse racing venue located in the Millhill area of Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, close to the River Esk. It is the second biggest racecourse in Scotland and is the fourteenth biggest in the UK. In 2016, Musselburgh staged 28 fixtures. It was officially known as "Edinburgh Racecourse", and referred to as such in the English press, until the beginning of 1996 but was widely referred to as "Musselburgh" in Scotland long before that and was widely referred to as Musselburgh in the racing pages of Scottish newspapers.
Sedgefield Racecourse is an English left-handed horse racing course, used for jump racing. It is owned by Arena Racing Company and located close to the town of Sedgefield, County Durham.
Southwell Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located 2 miles (3 km) east of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of only six racecourses in the UK to have an all-weather track and is one of three courses in the UK with a Tapeta surface. Southwell previously used a track surface of Fibresand, a mixture of sand and wispy fibres before changing to Tapeta in 2021.
Darren Charles Owen is a horse racing commentator, born 3 June 1967 in St. Asaph, North Wales.
Horse racing in Wales has a long tradition dating back to the 18th century. Wales has held flat racing, National Hunt and harness racing, and presently has three racecourses, at Chepstow, Bangor-on-Dee and Ffos Las. The Welsh Grand National is held annually at Chepstow between Christmas and New Year and is the highlight of the Welsh racing calendar.
