London truly has everything. It is the capital city of the United Kingdom for a reason. With landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, it’s easy to see why millions of tourists flock to The Big Smoke every year. A lesser-known fact about the city, however, is that it boasts some of the best racecourses in the country as well. Horse Racing is the most British of sports and boasts thousands of fans and punters, who make their way down to some of these racecourses on a regular basis to enjoy the highest quality Horse Racing in the country. Alongside the action, punters can check the results of races using websites such as oddschecker, who offer one of the best Horse Racing results platforms on the market today. London is often overlooked in favour of the more illustrious Aintree — host of The Grand National — and Cheltenham, home of the world-famous Cheltenham Festival, but the capital more than holds its own when it comes to quality racecourses. Here we take a look at four of the best, within a stone’s throw of the Church of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, the geographical centre of London.
Kempton Park – Distance to Central London 15.7 miles
If you like both Flat and National Hunt (with fences) racing, then Kempton Park is the place for you. It is one of the few racecourses in the country that offers both types of races, with the majority up and down the UK only offering one or the other. The racecourse can host up to 22,000 thousand spectators, which makes it one of the more compact venues on the racing calendar.
Boxing Day is when Kempton truly shines, hosting its most prestigious races including the King George VI Chase, a glamorous Grade 1 race. There’s racing on numerous times per month, all year round, and entry prices start from as low as £14.
Sandown Park – Distance to Central London 17.8 miles
Sandown Park has a decorated history spanning almost 150 years. The course was opened back in 1875 and has a modest capacity of 18,000. An interesting fact about Sandown is that it was one of the first racecourses in the UK to charge its attendees an entrance fee, with everyone in attendance charged half a crown to enter.
The Coral Festival is held at Sandown every July, offering some high-quality flat racing, such as the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes, which offers prize money of £600,000 to its victor.
Epsom Downs – Distance to Central London 20.2 miles
With a mammoth capacity of 120,000, Epsom Downs is by far and away the largest racecourse in the UK. It’s a full 45,000 clear of its nearest competition, Aintree. In fact, it’s the 6th largest racecourse in the world, although it is somewhat short of being the world’s biggest, an honour held by Tokyo Racecourse, which can hold up to 223,00 spectators.
Epsom is home to the renowned Derby Festival. The festival’s flagship race – The Derby – takes place on the first Saturday in June every year and is the most lucrative in all of flat racing, offering up a prize of £1,125,000 to one deserving winner. The Derby makes up part of Horse Racing’s triple crown, alongside the 2000 Guineas Stakes and the St Leger Stakes.
Ascot – Distance to Central London 29.1 miles
Forget prestige, now we’re talking about royalty, literally! The legendary Ascot racecourse is the home of the Queen’s own festival, Royal Ascot. The festival spans five days in the middle of June and is the only festival attended by Queen Elizabeth II, who – alongside her family members – starts each of the five days by giving a Royal Procession at 2 pm.
The racecourse was founded by Queen Anne back in 1711, meaning that it turns a whopping 311-years-old this July. In honour of its founder, every year Royal Ascot begins with the Queen Anne Stakes, which is run over 1 mile and has a prize of £400,000.
