Newmarket Racecourse

*Newmarket*
Newmarket
	Official site
Location	Suffolk, England
Owned by	Jockey Club Racecourses
Screened on	Racing UK
Course type	Flat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping tracks used for Flat racing only. Between them they host 9 of British racing's 32 annual Group 1 races, one less thanAscot Racecourse.

The Rowley Mile Course has 1 mile 2 furlong (2 km) straight with minor undulations towards 'The Bushes', two furlongs (400 m) out. The penultimate furlong (200 m) is downhill and the last is uphill, forming 'The Dip'. Races beyond the distance of 1 m 2f start on the 'Cesarewitch' or 'Beacon' course which turns right-handed into the straight.

The July Course has a 1 mile (1600 m) straight, known as 'The Bunbury Mile'. After 2 furlongs (400 m), there is a long downhill stretch before the uphill furlong (200 m) to the finish. This course also uses the 'Cesarewitch/Beacon' course for longer distances, again turning right into the straight.

The Rowley Mile is used for racing in the Spring and Autumn, while the July Course is used in Summer. The Rowley Mile has a grass strip used by light aircraft, and formerly by the RAF as RAF Newmarket.

The Devil's Dyke runs past the edge of the July course. About half of the racecourse complex, including the July and Cesarewitch/Beacon courses, is actually in the neighbouring county of Cambridgeshire.