Newmarket has over fifty horse training stables, two large racetracks, the Rowley Mile and the July Course, and one of the most extensive and prestigious horse training grounds in the world.[4] The town is home to over 3,500 racehorses, and it is estimated that one in every three local jobs is related to horse racing. Palace House, the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art, the National Horseracing Museum, Tattersalls racehorse auctioneers, and two of the world's foremost equine hospitals for horse health, are in the town, which is surrounded by over sixty horse breeding studs. On account of its leading position in the multibillion-pound horse racing and breeding industry, it is also a major export centre.
History
Newmarket lies on the ancient Icknield Way, and Bronze Age barrows have provided evidence of early settlement in the area. Devil's Dyke, an earthwork that crosses Newmarket Heath between the two racecourses, was built by Anglo-Saxons in the 7th century.[5] The town acquired its name in the early 13th century, when Richard de Argentein, who had married the daughter of the lord of the manor of Exning, was granted a charter by King Henry to hold a weekly market. A charter for an annual fair was then granted in 1223.[5]
During the Tudor period, Newmarket's economy depended largely on its market and on a number of inns serving the needs of travellers on the London to Norwich road.[6]:1 The High Street divided the town between two parishes: Exning in Suffolk to the north and Woodditton in Cambridgeshire to the south. St Mary's separated from Exning to become a parish in its own right in the 16th century, while All Saints separated from Woodditton in the 18th century.[7]:13[8]
Newmarket's royal connection began when James I visited the town in February 1605 and saw the potential of Newmarket Heath for hare coursing and hawking. At first he leased the Griffin inn, then, in 1608, he bought the property and built Newmarket Palace on the site, which extended from the High Street west of Sun Lane to All Saints Church.[6]:1 The court spent about a month in the spring, and sometimes a month in the autumn, in Newmarket.[6]:7 The first palace building suffered from subsidence and sank on one side when King James was in residence in 1613.[6]:2Simon Basil, and later, Inigo Jones, were commissioned to build new lodgings for the King and the Prince of Wales. Jones's design for the prince's lodging had three storeys and was Italianate in style.[9] Although there had been occasional races on Newmarket Heath during the reign of James I, it was his son, Charles I, who established the sport in the town, building a stand on the Heath to watch races.[6]:2 Charles last visit to Newmarket before the civil war was in 1642. He returned to the town as a prisoner in June 1647, having been captured at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire. He was placed under house arrest for about ten days in the palace, although he was allowed to ride on the heath.[6]:15 In 1650, the palace was sold to a group of seven men, including John Okey, and was demolished.[6]:15
Following the Restoration, Charles II re-established the royal connection with Newmarket. In 1668, he commissioned William Samwell to build a new palace on the High Street. It was described by John Evelyn as "meane enough, and hardly capable for a hunting house, let alone a royal palace!" Charles II also built a training yard and the town became a centre for racing, with the Spring and Autumn meetings taking place during the king's visits.[6]:23-25 In 1683, a fire swept through the town on the north side of the High Street, killing three people and destroying houses, shops, barns and stables. The damage was estimated at £20,265 4s 8d.[6]:34William III and Queen Anne both spent time in Newmarket; Queen Anne founded a boys' school and a girls' school in the town.[6]:43, 50 The first three Hanoverian kings had little interest in racing and did not visit Newmarket. George IV, while Prince of Wales, owned racehorses and frequented the town until 1791, when a scandal involving his horse Escape and his jockey Samuel Chifney led to a falling out with the Jockey Club, which had established its headquarters in Newmarket in 1752. The prince never returned to Newmarket, although he continued to keep his horses in training there.[10] The palace was sold in the early 19th century and much of it was demolished.[11]
During World War I, tented army camps were set up on the Heath.[12] A memorial, erected on land donated by the Jockey Club, was dedicated in October 2021.[13]
Geography and governance
A view of the Jockey Club Rooms
The area of Suffolk containing Newmarket is nearly an exclave, with only a narrow strip of territory linking it to the rest of the county. There are three tiers of local government covering Newmarket, at parish (town), district, and county level: Newmarket Town Council, West Suffolk District Council, and Suffolk County Council.
The town lies in the Parliamentary constituency of West Suffolk, which since 2024 has been represented by MP Nick Timothy.
Suffolk and Cambridgeshire (until 1889) West Suffolk (after 1889)
Historically the town was split between parishes and counties, with one parish – St Mary – in Suffolk, and the other – All Saints – in Cambridgeshire. The boundary between the two parishes followed the High Street through the middle of the town, with St Mary's parish and Suffolk to the north, and All Saints' parish and Cambridgeshire to the south. In 1851 a local board of health was established to govern the town, with its territory covering the two Newmarket parishes and parts of the neighbouring parishes of Exning (Suffolk) and Woodditton (Cambridgeshire).[16][17]
The Local Government Act 1888 established county councils, and directed that urban sanitary districts such as Newmarket Local Board should not straddle county boundaries. As such, the whole local board district was brought within West Suffolk on 1 April 1889. The Local Government Act 1894 established elected parish and district councils, with Newmarket Local Board becoming Newmarket Urban District Council on 31 December 1894. Newmarket Urban District Council held its first meeting on 31 December 1894 at Newmarket Town Hall at 29 High Street, a converted theatre which had previously been used by the old local board for meetings.[18][19] The first chairman of the urban district council was Joseph Rogers, who had been the last chairman of the local board.[20][21] On 1 October 1895 the urban district was enlarged by absorbing the rest of Exning parish and additional areas from Woodditton parish (the latter being added to the civil parish of Newmarket All Saints). Thereafter Newmarket Urban District covered three civil parishes: Newmarket St Mary, Newmarket All Saints, and Exning. These were urban parishes and so did not have parish councils of their own, but were directly administered by Newmarket Urban District Council.[22]
The urban district council was based at the Town Hall at 29 High Street until 1922, when it moved to Godolphin House at 2 The Avenue, and sold the Town Hall to be converted into commercial premises.[23] By 1937 the council had moved its main offices to Stratford House at 29 Old Station Road, but continued to use Godolphin House for some departments.[24][25] Around 1948 the council acquired Severals House at 3 Bury Road, which then served as its offices and meeting place until the council's abolition in 1974.[26] Newmarket Urban District Council was granted a coat of arms on 15 November 1951.[27]
The Local Government Commission for England suggested in the 1960s that the border around Newmarket could be altered in West Suffolk's favour. Conversely, the 1972 Local Government Bill, as originally proposed, would have transferred the town (and Haverhill) to Cambridgeshire. Newmarket Urban District Council supported the move to Cambridgeshire, but ultimately the government decided to withdraw this proposal and keep the existing boundary, despite lobbying from the Urban District Council.[28]
Newmarket Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, merging with neighbouring Mildenhall Rural District to become Forest Heath District on 1 April 1974.[29] No successor parish was created for the former urban district, and so it became an unparished area, remaining unparished until 1999 when the area was split between two parishes called Newmarket and Exning, with the parish council for Newmarket adopting the name Newmarket Town Council.[30][31] Forest Heath District Council had its main offices at Mildenhall. Forest Heath merged with neighbouring St Edmundsbury in 2019 to become West Suffolk, administered from Bury St Edmunds.[32]
Racing at Newmarket has been dated as far back as 1174, making it the earliest known racing venue of post-classical times.[citation needed]King James I (reigned 1603–1625) greatly increased the popularity of horse racing there, and King Charles I followed this by inaugurating the first cup race in 1634. The Jockey Club's clubhouse is in Newmarket, though its administration is based in London.
Stables and training industry
Horses galloping on the Long Hill training grounds
Around 3,000 race horses are stabled in and around Newmarket. By comparison, the human population is of the order of 15,000 and it is estimated that one in three jobs are connected to horseracing in one way or another.[33] Newmarket has three main sections of Heath, all of which are used to train the racehorses on. The grassland of Newmarket's training grounds has been developed over hundreds of years of careful maintenance, and is generally regarded as some of the finest in the world. "Racecourse side" is located next to the Rowley Mile Racecourse and is a predominately flat area. "Warren Hill" overlooks the town and consists of three all-weather canters and a multitude of grass canters. "Bury Side" is the name given to the area located near the Bury Road and the railway line. These areas and the surrounding heath is chalk downland and has special birds and animals only suited to this terrain. It is also a very historical area with the remains of 6th century living.[34] This hill is part of the chalk formation the Newmarket Ridge. The town has 50 miles (80km) of turf gallops and over 14 miles (23km) of artificial track.
Most of the Newmarket-based racing stables are situated in the centre of the town, where they can easily access the gallops. The town has special horse routes so the horses can reach the gallops safely from the many training establishments occupied by top trainers. Many of the world's most successful trainers are based in Newmarket, Sir Michael Stoute who is based at Freemason Lodge, John Gosden, based at Clarehaven Stables, Saeed bin Suroor, based at Stanley House Stables and Charlie Appleby based at Moulton Paddocks. Millions of pounds of prize money are won by these trainers alone around the world each year. Many of the horses they train are worth over £1 million, with some of the finest being worth between £5 million and £50 million or higher. Outside the town the land-use is dominated by thoroughbredbreeding, studs occupying large areas in every direction. Around seventy licensed trainers and more than sixty stud farms operate in and around Newmarket.[35]
Newmarket has three major public horse exercise grounds: Warren Hill (including the Long Hill exercise grounds), Racecourse Side (situated between and alongside Newmarket Racecourses's Rowley Mile and July Courses), and the Limekilns (include the Al Bahatri all-weather grounds). Godolphin also operate two large private horse exercise grounds near their Godolphin Stables and Moulton Paddocks stables.
Horse racing
The Rowley Mile Racecourse
The town has two race courses situated on Newmarket Heath, The Rowley Mile and The July Course. The Rowley Mile is the home of Newmarket's two Classic races, the 2,000 Guineas and the 1,000 Guineas, two of the world's most prestigious races, run in the first weekend of May every year. The value of the winners of these races are often immediately increases by millions of pounds. It is also the home of Future Champions Day, run the weekend before Champions Day at Ascot, which includes the very important Dewhurst Stakes. The July Course is the home of the July Cup, the Falmouth Stakes and a number of other very important races. The two courses are separated by the Devil's Dyke. This large earthwork starts in neighbouring Woodditton (sometimes spelt as Wood Ditton) and ends in Reach, a distance of over seven miles (eleven kilometres).
Newmarket is the UK centre for the multibillion-pound racehorse breeding industry, and a key global centre of the business. Thoroughbred breeding lines are a core part of success in global horse racing, and key stallions are controlled by major global breeding operations, which operate studs around the town. Darley Stud, owners of New Approach, Cape Cross, Dubawi, Sepoy and Raven's Pass own large areas of land to the south of the town. Shadwell Stud, another major global operation, have a number of studs nearby and own Nayef, Sakhee, Haafhd and Eswarah. Juddmonte Farms, owner of Frankel, Observatory, Dansili, Champs Elysees and Three Valleys, also have a large stud nearby. Cheveley Park Stud, owners of Pivotal, Mayson and Medicean are based next to the town, as are Lanwades Stud, owners of Aussie Rules, Hernando and Sir Percy. Newsells Park Stud, owners of Equiano and The Royal Studs, owners of Motivator also operate there. In 1967 Queen Elizabeth II opened The National Stud, a breeding centre for thoroughbred horses. Other parts of the town are also surrounded by some of the world's largest and most successful horse breeding studs.
Equine hospitals and research
The town is home to two of the most advanced equine hospitals in the world. The Newmarket Equine Hospital, situated on the Cambridge Road near the July Course was established in 2008 by the veterinary practice of Greenwood, Ellis and Partners.[36][37] Rossdales equine hospital in Exning was established in 1998 by Rossdales, a veterinary practice that had been operating in Newmarket since 1959.[38] The Animal Health Trust, a charity founded in 1942 to research into the diseases of horses, dogs and cats, was based in Newmarket and the nearby village Kentford, until its closure in 2020.[39]
National Horseracing Museum
Part of Palace House in Newmarket, Suffolk, UK
Newmarket is home to the National Horseracing Museum, which, together with the Sporting Art Trust and Retraining of Racehorses, forms the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art. The museum opened in 1983 in the Jockey Club Rooms on the High Street and moved to larger premises in Palace Street in 2016. The Sporting Art Trust collection, which includes paintings by George Stubbs, Sir Alfred Munnings and Lucy Kemp-Welch, is housed in Palace House, the remains of the palace of Charles II. The Trainer's House and King's Yard Stables were converted into the museum galleries, while the Rothschild Yard includes stables for several retired racehorses. The 5-acre grounds include a garden, paddocks and a riding arena.[40][41]
Newmarket Clock Tower in July 2019A statue of the Queen in Newmarket, Suffolk
Newmarket's key role in sport for many centuries has made it a centre for many of Britain's finest sporting painters. The development of painting on sporting themes in the early eighteenth century was centred on the Newmarket Racecourse and the three founders of the sporting school, John Wootton, James Seymour and Peter Tillemans, painted many scenes of the racecourse and its environs.[42] Newmarket is also the setting for some of Sir Alfred Munnings's most famous paintings.
Three years later the first nine miles (fourteen kilometres) or so of this line, the stretch from Great Chesterford to Six Mile Bottom, was superseded by a more viable section linking Six Mile Bottom directly with Cambridge, and so the Great Chesterford – Six Mile Bottom section closed in 1851, one of the earliest closures in British railway history (the former Bourne Bridge station is believed to have been partly incorporated into a public house just across the road from a station opened later on another line – Pampisford, on the now-closed Cambridge – Haverhill – Sudbury route). With the development of other rail lines the Newmarket terminus was replaced by the present through station in 1902; it was used as a goods station until 1967 and demolished in 1980.[43]
A short distance to the north east is the 1,100-yard Warren Hill tunnel. North of the tunnel, a separate station, Warren Hill, was built for raceday use.
Regular bus services run to the neighbouring towns of Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Ely and Mildenhall.[44] Various National Express coach services serve the town: London (Victoria Coach Station) to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft; Norwich to Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick Airports; and the cross country Clacton-on-Sea to Liverpool service which travels via Cambridge, Peterborough, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester. In late 2006, Newmarket introduced a Park and Ride service running from Studlands industrial estate to the town centre, which was replaced by an hourly bus route, the number 11 (formerly number 10), whilst at the same time parking charges were introduced to the town. [citation needed]
Education
Newmarket has a number of primary schools which feed into the 11–18 Newmarket Academy, the town's only secondary school. The town is also home to an Air Training Corps Squadron (2417 Newmarket Squadron) and an Army Cadet Detachment.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC East and ITV Anglia.Television signals are received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter.[45]
Newmarket has two racecourses, The Rowley Mile and The July Course, and is home to 3,000 thoroughbred racehorses and over 70 racehorse trainers. The local football team is Newmarket Town. In 2005–06 the club reached the quarter finals of the FA Vase. Newmarket Hockey Club play field hockey,[47] and Newmarket Cycling and Triathlon club is an amateur cycling club in the town.
A greyhound racing track was opened around the Cricket Field Road ground, the venue used by Newmarket Town FC. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.[48] The track was active shortly after World War II and is known to have also been active during 1967. The date of closure is not known.[49] An earlier instance of racing took place in 1933 at a venue described as the Duchess Drive Stadium.[50]
Hospitals
Following the death of Admiral Rous in 1877, the Jockey Club set up a memorial fund and raised £5000 to build a hospital. The Rous Memorial Hospital on Vicarage Road opened in 1889 and included almshouses. The cottage hospital closed in 1966 and was converted into warden-controlled flats.[51]
Newmarket Union Workhouse on Exning Road became a hospital in 1937 and was renamed Newmarket General Hospital in 1951. It was converted into flats in the 1990s, when Newmarket Community Hospital was built in the grounds.[52][53] In 2025 a £15 million community diagnostic centre opened at the hospital in December 2024.[54]
Granted 15 November 1951, to the Newmarket Urban District Council.[27]
Escutcheon
Vert a Horse courant Argent on a Chief Gules a Lion rampant guardant between two Saxon Crowns Or therein as many Arrows in saltire points downwards of the second.
Motto
'RESPICE FINEM' – Look to the end.
Lambourn and Malton – two other major racehorse training centres in England.
↑Youngs, Frederic A. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Volume 1: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p.684. ISBN0-901050-67-9.
↑"Newmarket Urban Council". Bury Free Press. Bury St Edmunds. 15 July 1922. p.5. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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