Horse racing in the UK has come a long way since the sport began to draw crowds more than 300 years ago. Back then thousands of people would spend a day at the races as part of a town or parish festival, and enjoy the frivolities of being out for an afternoon of sport and entertainment.
In many ways this hasn’t changed. Hundreds of thousands of racegoers pack the stands of Cheltenham, Aintree and Ascot every year, and the horse racing betting industry has grown alongside the sport’s popularity to offer a wide range of bets to all who attend races.
However, horse racing is an expensive sport to host and racecourses have had to diversify their income in recent years. Very few now only do horse racing. Most have restaurants, outdoor activities, conference centres and even act as shopping destinations – anything to draw a crowd during times of the year when the races aren’t on.
This helps the racecourses maintain their standards, keep the courses well looked-after, and ensures everything from stables to parade rings are perfectly polished ahead of big race meets.
And thankfully the distribution of UK racecourses is fairly evenly spread across the country. While pitching a racecourse in the very north of Scotland is not financially viable, there really is no shortage of horse racing action wherever you look.
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Number of racecourses in the UK
According to the British Horseracing Authority there are 59 racecourses in the UK, “from Perth in Scotland to Newton Abbot in Devon”. The most easterly course is Great Yarmouth, while Ayr pips Ffos Las by a few miles to be the most westerly.
UK racecourses vary in type, with most either being a Flat or a National Hunt course. There are 16 “mixed” courses which allow for both types of racing throughout the year.
National Hunt races are those that feature fences and hurdles that horses must jump while racing. These races take place during the National Hunt season between autumn and late spring. Flat races are run without jumps on harder ground over the summer months.
Below (in alphabetical order) is the full list of UK racecourses, their course type and their racing direction.
- Aintree | Jump, Clockwise
- Ascot | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Ayr | Mixed, Clockwise
- Bangor-on-Dee | Jump, Clockwise
- Bath | Flat, Clockwise
- Beverley | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Brighton | Flat, Clockwise
- Carlisle | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Cartmel | Jump, Clockwise
- Catterick Bridge | Mixed, Clockwise
- Chelmsford City | Flat, Clockwise
- Cheltenham | Jump, Clockwise
- Chepstow | Mixed, Clockwise
- Chester | Flat, Clockwise
- Doncaster | Mixed, Clockwise
- Epsom Downs | Flat, Clockwise
- Exeter | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Fakenham | Jump, Clockwise
- Ffos Las | Mixed, Clockwise
- Fontwell Park | Jump, Overlap
- Goodwood | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Great Yarmouth | Flat, Clockwise
- Hamilton Park | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Haydock Park | Mixed, Clockwise
- Hereford | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Hexham | Jump, Clockwise
- Huntingdon | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Kelso | Jump, Clockwise
- Kempton Park | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Leicester | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Lingfield Park | Mixed, Clockwise
- Ludlow | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Market Rasen | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Musselburgh | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Newbury | Mixed, Clockwise
- Newcastle | Mixed, Clockwise
- Newmarket | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Newton Abbot | Jump, Clockwise
- Nottingham | Flat, Clockwise
- Perth | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Plumpton | Jump, Clockwise
- Pontefract | Flat, Clockwise
- Redcar | Flat, Clockwise
- Ripon | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Salisbury | Flat, Anti-clockwise
- Sandown Park | Mixed, Anti-clockwise
- Sedgefield | Jump, Clockwise
- Southwell | Mixed, Clockwise
- Stratford-on-Avon | Jump, Clockwise
- Taunton | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Thirsk | Flat, Clockwise
- Uttoxeter | Jump, Clockwise
- Warwick | Jump, Clockwise
- Wetherby | Jump, Clockwise
- Wincanton | Jump, Anti-clockwise
- Windsor | Flat, Overlap
- Wolverhampton | Flat, Clockwise
- Worcester | Jump, Clockwise
- York | Flat, Clockwise
Racecourses in Ireland
While Great Britain boasts an impressive 59 racecourses from Perthshire down to Devon, per-head it’s nothing compared to Ireland. The Irish can count an eye-watering 26 main racecourses. Now, 24 of them are in the Irish Republic, while two – Downpatrick and Down Royal – are in the north. Other racecourses, such as Farmacaffley, do exist but aren’t considered among the biggest ones on the island of Ireland.
Here’s the current list of Irish racecourses, including famous courses such as the Curragh, Leopardstown and Punchestown:
- Ballinrobe
- Bellewstown
- Clonmel
- Cork
- Curragh
- Down Royal
- Downpatrick
- Dundalk Stadium
- Fairyhouse
- Galway
- Gowran Park
- Kilbeggan
- Killarney
- Laytown
- Leopardstown
- Limerick
- Listowel
- Naas
- Navan
- Punchestown
- Roscommon
- Sligo
- Thurles
- Tipperary
- Tramore
- Wexford
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