Bar for just a few public holidays, horse racing takes place almost every single day in the UK and it is multi-million pound industry.
The are a total of 59 racecourses in the UK, some stage only Flat, others only jumping , while some offer a combination of the two.
Five courses – Chelmsford, Lingfield, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton have all-weather tracks. Only Chelmsford and Wolverhampton are exclusively all-weather venues as the other three all maintain a turf track also.
In all, 41 racecourses stage National Hunt racing with 18 tracks hosting solely Flat racing.
Cheltenham is known as the home of National Hunt racing and every year it hosts the Cheltenham Festival in March. Kempton (in December) and Aintree (in April) hold the other two major meetings of the National Hunt season.
On the Flat front, the major events of the season are the Derby meeting at the start of June and Royal Ascot in the middle of the same month. Glorious Goodwood at the end of July makes up the three big fixtures that define the season.
Nature Of The Courses
British racecourses come in many shapes and sizes and there is certainly a vast array on offer.
At most tracks the races are run left-handed, ie anti-clockwise around the course, however some courses are right-handed (clockwise) - for example, Kempton, Ascot and Sandown.
This can be crucial to a horse's chances in the National Hunt sphere as not all horses jump straight - if a horse veers left when jumping on a right-handed course then the end result will be that it has to run further than its rivals.
Some courses are quite unique in their layout, for example Cartmel and Fontwell are considered quirky because they are both figure-of-eight circuits.
The Terrain
When weighing up a potential wager on any horse in the UK, the punter should bear in mind the differing forms of terrain or obstacle difficulty the horse will encounter at the selected venue. These factors will play a significant part in shaping the horse racing odds for that race.
For example, the finishing straight at Cheltenham is uphill, which tests a horse's stamina, as does the steep gradient at Pontefract races for the Flat competitors.
On a similar note, Newbury's fences are regarded as stiffer than most, meaning that a horse must be a decent jumper if it is to do well there, whilst Haydock’s Flat track is considered fair due to its lack of undulations.
UK Racecourses
After our recent look at the best Irish racecourses, here is a brief course-by-course guide to what your selections will experience at each of the racecourses dotted around the UK:
Aintree: Has two left-handed courses, the 2m2f flat Grand National circuit and the 1m3f Mildmay Course. The home of the Grand National.
Ascot: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 6f and 34 yds with a straight 1m course. Draw- Low numbers favoured on the straight course.
Ayr: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 4f with a straight 6f course. Draw-High numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races, low numbers favoured in races over 7f.
Bangor: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 5f.
Bath: Flat. Left-handed circuit of about 1m 4f and 25yds with a 6f spur. Draw- Low numbers favoured in sprint contests.
Beverley: Flat. Right-handed circuit of 1m 3f and 44yds with a 5f spur. Draw- High numbers favoured on the 5f to 1m course.
Brighton: Flat. Left-handed "U" shaped course of 1m 4f. Draw- Low numbers favoured in sprints.
Carlisle: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 5f with two spurs of 6f and 1m. Draw- High numbers favoured in races up to 1m.
Cartmel: National Hunt. Left-handed figure-of-eight circuit of 1m with a diagonal finishing straight.
Catterick Bridge: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 180yds with a 5f straight course. Draw- Low numbers favoured in 5f & 7f races.
Chelmsford: All-weather track (plans for a turf course). The course is laid out as an eight-and-a-half furlong left-handed oval, with a two-furlong home straight.
Cheltenham: National Hunt. Two separate courses, both left-handed and about 1m 4f round.
Chepstow: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 2m with a straight 1m course. Draw- High numbers favoured on straight course.
Chester: Flat. Left-handed circuit of 1m 73yds. Draw- Low numbers highly favoured.
Doncaster: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 7.5f with a straight 1m course. Draw- High numbers favoured on the straight course, low numbers favoured on the round course.
Epsom: Left-handed horseshoe course of 1m 4f with 5f, 6f & 7f spurs. Draw- Low numbers favoured races up to 1m.
Exeter: Undulating right-handed track of about two miles.
Fakenham: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of about 1m.
Ffos Las: Large, oval track that hosts both Flat and Jump fixtures.
Fontwell: A figure-of-eight chase course with an oval hurdles course.
Goodwood: Flat. Right-handed "U" shaped course of 1m 3f with a straight 6f straight course. Draw- High numbers favoured.
Great Yarmouth: Flat. A 13-furlong straight course which is well suited to long gallopers.
Hamilton: Flat. Right-handed. Full circuit of 1m 5f with a straight 6f course. Draw- Middle numbers best on straight course.
Haydock: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 5f with a 6f spur. Draw- Low numbers favoured in 6f, 7f & 1m races.
Hereford: National Hunt. Square in shape with a right-handed circuit of about a mile-and-a-half.
Hexham: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 4f.
Huntingdon: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 4f.
Kelso: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 3f.
Kempton: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 6f with a straight 5f course. Draw- No advantage in sprints races, high numbers favoured on the round course.
Leicester: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 2m with a straight 1m course. Draw- High numbers favoured.
Lingfield: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed course for races of 1m 4f and more round, also straight & round 7f 140yds courses. The 3.5f run-in is slightly downhill. Draw- High numbers favoured on the straight course.
Ludlow: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 4f.
Market Rasen: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 2f.
Musselburgh: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed course of 1m 2f with a straight 5f course. Draw- High numbers favoured in races from 7f to 1m.
Newbury: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 7f with a straight 1m course. Draw-No advantage.
Newcastle: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 6f with a straight 1m course. Draw- No advantage.
Newmarket: Flat. Rowley Mile course is 2m long with a right-hand bend. Round course is 1m 7f. Draw- Low numbers favoured. July Course 2m long with a right-hand bend. Draw- No advantage.
Newton Abbot: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m.
Nottingham: Flat. Left-handed circuit of 1m 4f with a 1m straight course. Draw- High numbers preferred in 5f & 6f races.
Perth: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 2f.
Plumpton: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 2f.
Pontefract: Flat. Oval shaped course of 2m. Draw- Low numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races.
Redcar: Flat. Left-handed circuit of 1m 6f and 132yds with a straight 1m 1f course. Draw- No advantage.
Ripon: Flat. Right-handed circuit of 1m 6f with a straight 6f course. Draw- Low numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races.
Salisbury: Flat. Straight 1m course with a small right-handed loop. Draw- High numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races.
Sandown: Flat and National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 5f 35yds with a straight 5f course. Draw- Low numbers are favoured over 5f. High numbers favoured in races over 7f.
Sedgefield: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of about 1m 2f.
Southwell: Flat (A.W) and National Hunt . Left-handed circular circuit of 1m 2f.
Stratford: National Hunt. Left-handed circular circuit of 1m 2f.
Taunton: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 2f.
Thirsk: Flat. Left-handed circuit of 1m 2f 50yds with a straight 6f course. Draw-High numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races.
Uttoxeter: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 3f.
Warwick: Flat and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 6f 32yds with 5f, 1m and 1m 2f shoots. Draw- Low numbers favoured over 5f.
Wetherby: Flat (occasional) and National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 4f.
Wincanton: National Hunt. Right-handed circuit of 1m 3f.
Windsor: Flat. Right-handed figure-of-eight circuit of 1m 6f. Draw- High numbers favoured in 5f & 6f races.
Wolverhampton: Flat. Left-handed circuit of 1m 4f with a straight 5f course. Draw- High numbers are preferred on the straight course.
Worcester: National Hunt. Left-handed circuit of 1m 5f.
York: Flat. Left-handed "U" shaped course of 2m with a straight 6f course. Draw- No advantage.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Tim Ireland / AP Photo*
