Racecourse Guide: Everything You Need To Know About Newmarket

About Newmarket

The Newmarket Racecourse is a British thoroughbred horse racing location in Suffolk. It is often referred to as the horseracing headquarters of Britain, as it is home to one of the largest horse training facilities in the country—the Museum of Nation Horseracing, and the Majors Horse Racing Organization. If you care to know more, here’s your short Newmarket racecourse guide: everything you need to know about Newmarket. 

Newmarket has two distinct courses.

The two courses at Newmarket racecourses are Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. The former is designed for horse races during the Autumn and Spring seasons. The length is 10 furlongs, which is 1¼ miles. This course has a dip you can’t miss, which, towards its end, shoots an incoming horse and its rider downhill. It’s the site for the popular 1000 and 2000 Guinea stakes. Here is chair covers.

If you aren’t free during Spring, Newmarket’s second racecourse, the July Course, might just be right for you as it hosts a series of racing events in the summer, such as the July Cup and the Falmouth Stakes. This racecourse also features a one-mile-long track with a down-hill middle part that makes the horse climb uphill before conquering its final furlong.

 You want to make sure you do your homework before backing a horse here. That said, sites like Timeform provide information to punters, horse racing fans, and others involved in the industry.

The Huge Races Hosted At Newmarket

2000 Guineas Stakes

The 2000 Guinea Stakes are the first leg (or Group1) of the triple crown thoroughbred racing in the UK. It started in 1900 and has been hosted yearly except in 2020, when the pandemic showed up and halted most sporting activities. 

The current winner is Magna Grecia (the horse) and D.O’Brien who won the race consecutively in 2018 and 2019. It’s a one-mile or 1609 meters track race with a total prize of £523,000. First place horse/jokey takes around £297,000

1000 Guineas Stakes

Also a flat horse race, the 1000 Guinea stakes, takes place almost immediately after the 2000 Guinea stakes. Like the 2000 Guinea stakes, it’s the initial leg of the Fillies’ Triple Crown and has a one-mile/1609 meters long track. 

Unlike the 2000 Guineas stakes, the race is open to only three-year-old fillies. Riders and their horses compete for a total prize of £500,000, where the winner takes about £284,000. Both the 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas Stakes are run on the Rowley Mile course.

July Cup

The punting and horseracing action doesn’t end with Guinea stakes. A few weeks after, Newmarket hosted another of its biggest races, the July Cup, which has been going on since 1876. The July cup is a six-fueling race, which is around 1207 meters, and a flat-out run to the finish. Like the Guinea stakes, competing horses must be three years old. It’s a handicap race, so all three-year-old thoroughbreds will be racing with extra nine-stone weight. Older thoroughbreds of four years and over will run with an additional 6 pounds to level the playing field.

Fillies’ Mile

This racing event comes later in the year, every October. It’s a unique race; only two-year-old fillies carrying additional nine-stone weight can compete. The Fillies’ Mile is a young racing event as it only came into the scene in the early 70s. It was originally held at the Ascot but later became Newmarket’s main racing event when Ascot closed down for renovations. Winners take home around £320,000.