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.
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amongst other horse racing assets such as the National Stud, and the property and land management company, Jockey Club Estates. The registered charity Racing Welfare is also a company limited by guarantee with the Jockey Club being the sole member. As it is governed by Royal Charter, all profits it makes are reinvested back into the sport.
Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global centre for thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse training, breeding, and horse health. Two Classic races and three British Champions Series races are held at Newmarket every year. The town has had close royal connections since the time of James I, who built a palace there, and was also a base for Charles I, Charles II, and most monarchs since. Elizabeth II visited the town often to see her horses in training.
Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of racehorse training in England, and is home to a rehabilitation centre for injured jockeys, an equine hospital, and several leading jockeys and trainers. To the north of the village are the prehistoric Seven Barrows and the nearby long barrow. In 2004 the Crow Down Hoard was found close to the village.
Bruce Robertson Hobbs was an English jockey and racehorse trainer.
Alec Taylor Sr. (1821/23–1894) was an English racehorse trainer who in 1870 established the surviving famous Manton training stables on the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire, one of the finest training centres in the country. He was considered one of the best trainers of his era and during his career of about 50 years he won a total of 12 classics, ending in 1887 with Reve d'Or at the Oaks and 1000 Guineas, together with wins in numerous other important English races.
Mumtaz Mahal was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was champion two-year-old, champion sprinter, Horse of the Year and a highly successful broodmare.
Godolphin Stables, also known as Stanley House Stables, is a thoroughbred racehorse ownership, training and breeding operation in Newmarket, Suffolk, which has produced many notable horses. It is one of the most famous racing establishments in the world and is currently owned and operated by Godolphin Racing, the UK's largest flat racing operation.
Persimmon (1893–1908) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from June 1895 to July 1897 he ran nine times and won seven races. His victories included the 1896 Epsom Derby, one of the first horse races ever filmed, by Robert W. Paul. His other important victories included the St Leger Stakes, the Ascot Gold Cup and the Eclipse Stakes. He was also notable for his rivalry with another English colt St Frusquin, who inflicted his only two defeats.
The British Horseracing Authority, also known as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain.
Swynford was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred at the 16th Lord Derby's stud in Lincolnshire, England he was sired by John O'Gaunt, a son of Isinglass, winner of the British Triple Crown in 1893. His dam was Lord Derby's foundation mare and 1896 Epsom Oaks winner Canterbury Pilgrim who also produced Chaucer, the 1927 and 1933 Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland.
Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) is a national animal welfare organization in the United Kingdom. It was established by the British Horseracing Authority in 2000 and is a registered charity under English and Scottish law. It is the official charity for the welfare of horses who have retired from racing through injury, old age or a lack of ability. It is based at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket.
St. Amant (1901–1920) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1903 to 1906, he ran twenty-one times and won six races. As a three-year-old in 1904, he won both the 2000 Guineas Stakes and the Derby, but he failed to win the English Triple Crown when he was well beaten in the St. Leger by the filly Pretty Polly. He was kept in training for two more seasons but won only one more race before being retired.
Silvio (1874–1890) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1874 to 1877 he ran eight times and won three races. In 1877 he won The Derby and the St Leger. At the end of the 1877 season he was retired to stud where he had success both in England and France.
St. Frusquin (1893–1914) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career that lasted from May 1895 to July 1896, he ran eleven times and won nine races. He was the best British two-year-old of 1895 when his five wins included the Middle Park Plate and the Dewhurst Plate. As a three-year-old, he added wins in the 2000 Guineas and two of the season's most valuable all-aged races: the Princess of Wales's Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes. He had a notable rivalry with Persimmon, another outstanding British colt whom he defeated in two of their three racecourse meetings.
Tracery (1909–1924) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for winning the St. Leger Stakes in 1912. In a career which lasted from June 1912 until October 1913 he ran nine times and won six races. After finishing third on his debut in the 1912 Epsom Derby Tracery never lost another completed race at level weights. He won the St. James's Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and St. Leger Stakes in 1912 and the Eclipse Stakes and Champion Stakes as a four-year-old in 1913. He was brought down by a protester in the 1913 Ascot Gold Cup. After his retirement from racing he became a highly successful breeding stallion in Britain and Argentina.
Roger Varian is a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, based at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket, Suffolk.
Charles Church is a British painter best known for his equestrian portraits.
Caroline Agnes Graham, Duchess of Montrose, styled Dowager Duchess of Montrose after 1874, was a notable British racehorse owner, aristocrat, and socialite.
Claude Joachim Lefèvre was a prominent French racehorse owner whose French racing operations were based at Chamant, L'Oise, where he built a model stud, and after 1870 also at Dangu in Normandy. In 1873 he set a record as a racehorse owner by winning 110 races in a season.
