Horse racing enthusiasts know that the United Kingdom is home to some of the world’s most significant horse race events. Asides the magnificent horses, the jockeys and trainers equally contribute to tying the whole thing together. If you are planning to enjoy a day at any of the UK’s race events, here’s your how-to guide to UK’s biggest horse races.
- The Royal Ascot
Of all UK’s racing events, the Royal Ascot is one of the biggest. Trust when we say, it’s no ordinary day. The creme de la creme of society is always on the guest list, starting from the Royals. Even the Queen doesn’t fail to appear at the annual one-week event. The event offers one-stop horse racing action, exquisite fashion, music, drink, and extreme high stake sports betting at the bookies or online with sites like Timeform.
So whether you are there to catch fun, feast your eyes, or take news-worthy pictures for your blog, there’s always enough to go around at the Royal Ascot. This horse racing event offers a massive £7 million for racers to contend. The event’s highlight is the Gold cup, which carries a bulk of the magnanimous prize money.
- The Grand National
The Royal Ascot may very well be the richest horse racing event in the UK, but the Grand National is a favourite. The three-day event is held yearly in April just outside Liverpool at the Aintree racecourse. High stakes betting are the order of the day at the Grand National, with a record of around £250 million yearly.
The big race is a competition among 40 horses and comprises over four miles. Tiger Roll won 2019’s Grand National race with a record of over £150 million stakes by punters on the horse’s victory. Altogether, it’s always fun at the Grand National. There’s an opportunity to win big and lose, as well.
- The Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a four-day multi-horse race event established in the 1800s. With 28 exciting races and everyone’s opportunity to share in the £70,000 prize money, it holds every year in March. The event isn’t as rich as the Royal Ascot yet; nevertheless, it has a Gold cup event with a fantastic cash prize of over £625,000 for the first place winner.
The great thing is that you don’t have to race to gain from the races here. A £2 bet in 2019 had a man walking away with £160,000. Based on that, it’s no surprise that everyone looks forward to the Cheltenham gold cup, which is on the final day.
- York
In terms of prize money, the York racecourse is similar to the Royal Ascot. It’s one of the few racecourses that host only flat racing. Because of the nature of the track, events only come up in the summer. The biggest race usually takes place in August and runs as a four-day event. Altogether, it features international stakes, Nunthorpe Stakes, and the Yorkshire Oaks. You can also catch the spring festival in May with Dante’s stake.
- The Ladbrokes Trophy
Established in 1957, the Ladbrokes Trophy initially ran at Cheltenham until it was moved to Newbury’s permanent location. The event is jam-packed into one day with the total prize money of £250 thousand. More than half that amount goes to the winner of the primary race. In 2014 and 2015, a prolific horse called Many Clouds won the Ladbrokes trophy and snagged the Grand National for both years. The event is not as big as the others on the list, but punters are never absent at any of these events.
