Hints and Tips

Horse Racing : A day out at the Races.

Race courses.

There are almost 60 different race courses throughout the UK. 

For the General public the most famous are those where the great racing festivals are held.

In flat racing the leading festivals are Guineas Meeting (Newmarket early May), Derby Weekend at Epsom (early June), Royal Ascot (late June), Newmarket July meeting (early July) Glorious Goodwood (first week of August), York Ebor meeting (late August), and the Festival of Racing (Ascot late September).

Over the jumps the biggest meetings are the Kempton Christmas meeting, Aintree in early April but the biggest of them all is the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The Classics

These five races for three year olds are:

• The 2000 Guineas: one of the most demanding races in the UK
• The Epsom Derby: with prize money exceeding one million pounds.
• The St Leger: the original classic, first run in 1776, and a test of endurance.

These make up the Triple Crown

• The 1000 Guineas : restricted to fillies, first run in 1814.
• The Epsom Oakes :  restricted to fillies, first run in 1779

Royal Ascot

Royal Ascot is one of the leading events of both the racing and social calendar, the highlight of the summer.  In 1711 when Queen Anne chose an ideal place in Berkshire for "horses to gallop at full stretch" and Ascot was born. It  has retained close links with the Royal Family ever since then and is the only true Royal racing event in the world. Over 4 days in June, the focus is on Fashion, with Ladies Day on the Thursday attracting the most visitors.

Enclosures

Courses are usually split into three sections. These are:

Silver Ring,

Tattersalls (The Grandstand), and

Members (sometimes called the Club Enclosure).

Silver Ring

Anybody can go into the Silver Ring.  From here you will be unable to see the horses parade before the race as it is usually situated someway from the finish line. The dress code for the Silver Ring is relaxed and you will have no problem gaining access in jeans and tee shirt for example. There are bar facilities and you will also be able to place a bet with both The Tote and some on course bookmakers. The Silver Ring is the cheapest enclosure.

Tattersalls

Entry into Tattersalls will position you a lot nearer the finish line, so you will get a much better close up of any exciting finishes. You also get to see the horses parade before the race and you can also get access to the area around the winner's enclosure once a race has been completed. There are plenty of bars available and you will have a wider choice of bookmakers to place a bet with.

Members

The member's section is often divided into two areas with certain parts off limits to everyone except annual members. Here you are right on the finish line. Dress code is smart.

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