UK Racecourse Guide

Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the United Kingdom. Racing takes place almost every day of the calendar year, with the jockeys only getting some time off in the build-up to Christmas Day.

National Hunt racing, flat racing and all-weather racing take place in the UK. The main jumps season runs between November and April. Flat racing takes centre stage between May and October, with all-weather action taking place throughout the calendar year.

On this page, you'll find our guides to all the UK racecourses, including track history and characteristics, draw bias info, and vital trainer and jockey statistics.

Many of the world's oldest racecourses can be found in the United Kingdom. Chester's famous racecourse is the oldest in the UK, having first staged racing back in 1539.

Epsom racecourse was opened way back in 1661, with Newmarket racecourse opening six years later in 1661. Ascot races were first used in 1711. Cheltenham racecourse opened its gates in 1815, 14 years before the first race was run at Aintree racecourse in 1829.

All racetracks have different characteristics. Some racecourses suit some horses more than others, hence the expression "horses for courses".

York racecourse is very flat and is considered one of the fairest tracks in the country. Epsom Downs, on the other hand, is extremely undulating and the home straight cambers down towards the inside rail.

Some racecourses house multiple different racetracks. At Newmarket, there's the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Cheltenham has both a New Course and an Old Course. Both Lingfield and Newcastle boast a jumps track, a flat track and an all-weather racing circuit.

When it comes to flat racing, the draw is massively influential. Take Chester, for example, it's vitally important to be drawn low over trips between five furlongs and a mile, as the turn comes up quickly and can be too sharp for horses drawn wide to cope with.

Even on flat tracks like York and Ascot, getting a good draw is crucial. At Epsom, stall one is known as the "coffin stall", as it can be extremely hard to win races from the gate closest to the inside rail.

Horse racing of some shape or form takes place in the UK on a daily basis. ITV Racing broadcasts the best of the action on major race days, with channels like Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing taking care of the daily meetings.

We publish free UK racing tips during all major meetings. Our Daily Tips can also be found in the betting section of our website.

The ideal place to watch horse racing would be on your television, in the comfort of your own home. Sometimes, that isn't possible. Our busy lives often get in the way, and we have to watch horse racing on the go.

Visit the horse racing live streaming page on our website to find out how you can stream UK racing live today.