Racing is staged at Newmarket?s Rowley Mile in the spring and the autumn and hosts the first two Classics of the Flat season, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas. The track is undulating in nature and horses must contest the famous `dip? in the straight which can often cause them to become unbalanced. It tests horses? mentality along with agility as it can catch out horses who lack experience.
Racing at the July course in Newmarket begins at the end of June and runs until the end of August. The showpiece event at the course is the valuable Group 1 July Cup, a sprint race over five furlongs, hosted on the final day of the July Festival.
The track is a big galloping track with a downhill start and a stiff uphill finish. It has a one-mile straight, known as 'The Bunbury Mile' and uses the Rowley Mile Cesarewitch course for longer distances, before turning right into the straight.
Newmarket is known as the headquarters of flat racing and boasts extensive history. It was in Newmarket where racing was born in the early 17th century due to a Royal interest in the sport.
Under the reign of James I, racing took off in Newmarket and in 1622, the first ever match race was staged, competing for the prize of 100 pounds. The racecourse was officially founded in 1636.
King Charles II was a regular attendee of racing on the town?s heath when the King?s Plate and the Town Plate were the principal races until 1974 when two more plate races were added to the fixtures. Since then racing and its facilities in Newmarket have continued to grow and expand and is now home to more than 3,000 racehorses.
