I know what you’re saying: “He’s not been to many racecourses.”

That’s true. However, they say small is beautiful. I’m not sure if that works for visiting a small number of racecourses, but it’s good enough for me.

My love of horse racing came from my late father, Colin, who enjoyed a day’s racing at Great Yarmouth, down Jellico Road. It is the reason I visit the course on a regular basis, and still do to this day. A Merry Pilgrimage in memory of family and friends who have sadly long past. I doubt I would have even visited this Norfolk coast if not for that connection.

Horse racing has allowed me to meet some amazing people and real characters.

Here are the racecourses I have visited and the story behind them.

1. Great Yarmouth –

As detailed with my family history, this racecourse was the first and will probably be the last I visit. As a family, my brother and I would stay at the Ladbroke’s Caravan Park at Caister-on-sea. Dad would go to the races, and sometimes we would go with him. It was a time for the family to have a well-earned rest. Such wonderful memories.

In my teenage years, my brother and I would go to Great Yarmouth races with Dad. We’d catch the train from March, change at Ely and Norwich to have a brilliant day at the races. It was pretty tiring to return home on the same day, but it was always worth the effort. It has always been a lucky course. Even to this day, we visit the course regularly, often with my brothers, cousins, and a few friends who we have met along the way. The highlight being the 3-day Eastern Festival which takes place every September.

Great Yarmouth is like coming home.

2. Huntingdon –

One of the few National Hunt racecourses I have visited. The first time I went was a work’s day out organized by my Uncle Alan, who ran a successful plastering business. It was just before Christmas. It was a decent day out. I can’t remember too much about it.

However, I have visited the course in recent years, and it’s a lovely course with lots of bars and restaurants. Being close to home it makes for a good location. I prefer the Flat rather than the National Hunt so it’s not a favoured betting medium but a course I go to out of season.

3. Kempton Park –

This was a long time ago when racing took part on the turf. The only time I visited this racecourse but remember it well. It was a day out was organized by a local pub called The Men of March. The regulars all turned up. I wasn’t a regular, but my cousins were and they said ‘why don’t you come along’. I went with my brother. I enjoyed the day and remember we bet on a two-year-old horse trained by Luca Cumani called Really Brilliant. The horse won easily by four or five lengths. I also remember seeing a bloke with the biggest bundle of money, literally the size of a football. I often wonder who that man was. Kempton was turned into an all-weather course in 2006. The only course I have visited in the big smoke.

4. Leicester –

There is a story behind the one and only time we visit to this course. A long time ago. To be fair, I enjoyed the day out although it was very tiring and there was a sting in the tail. I will go back one day.

However, let’s get back to the day out which must have been at least 30 years ago. There was a reason for us going to Leicester although it was a spur of the moment decision. My brother and I traveled by train from March. I remember it was a bank holiday and that the train stopped at Melton Mowbray, the place famous for making pork pies. By the end of the day, I wish I had stayed there and just tucked in. I could see a fete and it all looked very attractive and fun. However, we were destined for Leicester racecourse.

We got a taxi from the train station to the course. It was heaving with punters and bookmakers were spread thin with only seven or so turned up. We were interested in betting on a horse trained by Sir Michael Stoute called Carnival Spirit. We had no idea what the opening show would be and when the bookie chalked up 6/4f I nearly had a heart attack. We thought it would be 3/1. After traveling so far we felt obliged to bet, almost under duress, and it didn’t turn out well. She led, making all only to be caught in the final furlong finishing third beaten a neck and short-head. Thinking back, I thought it was beaten further. Not that it matters as a loss is a loss. I think we bet £50 which was a decent sum for us. It wasn’t good at all. The winner Terimon, trained by Clive Brittain, went on to finish runner-up to Nashwan in the Epsom Derby (1989) at odds of 500/1. It seemed a long journey home. The good side came when next start we bet £100 on Carnival Spirit who won well at York when dropping down to one mile at odds of 5/4. We watched this comfortable victory at our local bookmakers. Compensation for the prior experience. It put a smile on our face.

5. Fakenham –

I have been to Fakenham a couple of times. It’s a lovely National Hunt course, with a friendly atmosphere. It reminded me of a country set with farmers aplenty or people dressed as such. Lots of wax jackets and flat caps. I was struck by the number of dogs at the course and a greyhound with a jacket but shivering with cold. It was absolutely freezing. I went with my cousin, Danny, driven by my old boss Kevin McCourt, who has owned a few decent horses in his time. Also, Buster and Dave Smith. A friendly bunch and a lovely day. I can’t remember if I had a bet or not. I am reminded of the sharp course and one of the jumps a short distance from the finishing line. A near certainty jumping the last fence broke a hind leg. The sigh of the crowd always stuck in my mind. I’ve been a couple of times since. The last time when it was abandoned just before the scheduled start due to waterlogging. We had a pub crawl on the way back so it was, in fact, a very enjoyable day.

Who says you have to go to the course to enjoy a day’s racing!

To think from a lifetime of horse racing I have been to so few racecourses.

Perhaps one day I go to pastures new.

The Kauto Star Novices’ Chase is a Grade 1 steeplechase run over 3 miles at Kempton on Boxing Day. As the name suggests, the race is restricted to ‘novice’ steeplechasers which, in this case, means horses aged four years and upwards who, prior to the start of the current season, have yet to win a steeplechase.

The Kauto Star Novices’ Chase was inaugurated, as the Feltham Novices’ Chase, in 1975, but the name of Nigel Clark, late president of Kempton Park, was added to the race title in 2007. Likewise, the name of Kauto Star, who won the King George VI Chase five times from six attempts between 2006 and 2011, was added to the race title following his retirment from racing in October, 2012. The latter name change was made permanent the following year, such that the race has been run as the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase (In Memory Of Nigel Clark) ever since.

Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson, who, between them, have farmed the National Hunt Trainers’ Championship since the retirement of Martin Pipe, are the leading trainers in the history of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, with five wins apiece. Nicholls, though, has been the more successful of the pair in recent seasons, having saddled Black Corton (2017) and Bravemansgame (2021)

In 2015, the now-retired Lizzie Kelly made turf history by winning the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Tea For Two, trained by Nick Williams; in so doing, she became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race over obstacles in Britain. Other notable winners in recent years include Long Run (2009), who went on win the King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup in the 2011/12 season, and Coneygree (2014) who, less than three months later, became the first novice to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup since Captain Christy in 1974.

The oldest racecourse in Britain is Chester Racecourse, a.k.a. the ‘Roodee’, or ‘Roodeye’, which stands on the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire, North West England. Chester Racecourse was founded in 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by the so-called ‘Reforming Mayor of Chester’, Henry Gee, and staged its first recorded meeting in February that year. Gee subsequently decreed that horse racing should be staged annually on Shrove Tuesday and, 480 years later, Chester was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the ‘oldest racecourse still in operation’, not just in Britain, but anywhere in the world.

‘Roodeye’ is derived from the Saxon word ‘rood’ meaning ‘cross’ and the Norse word ‘eye’, hence ‘Island of the Cross’. Chester was established as a harbour by the Romans but, by Saxon times, silt built up in the River Dee to create a small island, which once bore a stone cross. The remnants of the cross can still be seen in the middle of the modern racecourse. Racing at Chester has been interrupted by major events, including the English Civil War, World War I and World War II, but otherwise has been staged almost continuously since the first half of the sixteenth century.

Australia is home to more than 360 racecourses spanning the length and breadth of the country. They range from magnificent venues that host some of the world’s most prestigious races to small dirt tracks with rickety old grandstands. The country’s best racetracks are concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney, and they can easily rival the most famous venues in England, France, the United States and Japan. These are the five bucket list Australian racecourses that you simply have to visit:

Flemington

Flemington Racecourse is most famous for hosting the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November each year. More than 90,000 people pack into the famous racecourse to watch the race that stops a nation, including a whole host of A-list celebrities. The Melbourne Cup is beamed out to a global audience of around 750 million people, making it one of the most important races in the world.

The Melbourne Cup 2020 horses will be listed at Punters and you can see how talented the field is. It is the richest two-mile handicap in the world, with $8 million in prize money up for grabs, so it attracts the finest stayers from Ireland, the UK, UAE, Japan and other major race nations. They slog it out over 3200m and the winner goes down in history and a certifiable legend.

Flemington was opened all the way back in 1840. It sits on 1.27 square kilometres of Crown land, and it has a capacity of more than 120,000, with three large grandstands, making it one of the top five largest racecourses in the world.

The record attendance came in 2003, when 122,736 people attended Melbourne Cup Day. Flemington also hosts 12 other Group 1 races, including the Victoria Derby, the Oaks, the VRC Sprint Classic, the Turnbull Stakes and the Mackinnon Stakes.

Caulfield

Some of Australia’s most famous, prestigious and historic races are held at Caulfield each year. The racecourse is located 16 kilometres south of Flemington, on the other side of Melbourne, and it has a capacity of around 47,000.

It is another key destination in the Spring Racing Carnival. If you find yourself in Melbourne during the spring, you can visit both Flemington and Caulfield, thus ticking two iconic racetracks off your bucket list.

The most important race held here each year is the $5 million Caulfield Cup. This Group 1 race takes place over a distance of 2400m and it also attracts an international crowd of elite runners. You will also find 11 more Group 1 races at Caulfield each year, including the Caulfield Guineas, Blue Diamond Stakes and C F Orr Stakes.

The racecourse is unique for its triangular track, the 4-6% banking on turns and the really tight final turn. Many trainers use Caulfield as the starting point for young horses, so you can witness the stars of the future in action on some race days.

Royal Randwick

Randwick is the home of racing in Sydney. It has hosted racing since 1833, making it one of the world’s oldest surviving courses. The track hosts an unrivalled 20 different Group 1 races each year, including the Australian Derby, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Doncaster Handicap.

Royal Randwick also hit headlines around the world when it hosted The Everest in 2017. The race had prize money of $10 million, making it the richest race in Australia and the richest turf race in the world. Prize money has since increased to $14 million, which allowed Yes Yes Yes to clinch record prize money of $4.8 million for winning the race in 2019.

The Everest is not quite the richest race in the world, but it is not far behind the likes of the Dubai World Cup. It has certainly put Sydney on the map, and it could be enough to swing the balance of power away from Melbourne.

Randwick has also hosted a two-day season ending meeting called The Championships each April since 2014. Prize money has gone past the $20 million mark for the event, so you cannot fault the organisers in New South Wales for ambition.

Rosehill

Rosehill is the other leading racecourse in Sydney, located 24 kilometres west of Randwick, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It was opened in 1885 and it has served up many glorious meetings in the ensuing years.

The main event of the year at Rosehill is the Golden Slipper Stakes. This is the world’s richest race for two-year-old thoroughbreds, with prize money of $3.5 million. It has unearthed many future superstars.

There are a further eight Group 1 races held at Rosehill each year, including the George Ryder Stakes, Golden Rose Stakes and the Tancred Stakes. The track has a circumference of 2,048 metres, with a home straight of 408 metres, and it has hosted some exhilarating battles in the past few years.

Moonee Valley

Moonee Valley is known to have the best atmosphere of any Australian racecourse. It can hold around 38,000 rowdy racegoers, and they are generally in a boisterous mood as they watch the action unravel.

Every year, the racetrack hosts a two-day carnival featuring a number of important events. The most important race is the $5 million Cox Plate, the leading race of the year for middle-distance runners in Australia.

The legendary Winx made the Cox Plate even more famous when she won the race four times in a row between 2015 and 2018. She has now retired, but her legacy will endure and Moonee Valley was the scene of her greatest triumphs.

The racecourse also hosts the Group 1 Manikato Stakes and the Moonee Valley Gold Cup each year, making it another key ground in the Spring Racing Carnival.