In 2019, horse racing had another year to remember with a number of great achievements for some wonderful horses.
Over the jumps, Tiger Roll won an incredible second Grand National at Aintree, while Al Boum Photo gave trainer Willie Mullins a first Cheltenham Gold Cup.
On the flat, who could forget Enable being narrowly denied in the Arc at Longchamp, but she’ll be back this year as she seeks to win the race for a third time.
Two of the biggest horse racing events in 2019 will be the Cheltenham Festival and of course, the Grand National, but what will 2020 have in store? Here’s our guide to all the big horse racing fixtures and events to look forward to this year.
Horse Racing Fixtures
National Hunt:
Cheltenham Festival
Racecourse: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Dates – March 10-13, 2020
Average attendance: 265,000
Big Race: Cheltenham Gold Cup, £575,000 prize money
The Cheltenham Festival is second only to the Grand National in terms of race prize money available and the meeting often pits the wits of the very best horses from the UK and Ireland.
The festival originated back in 1860, and the fourth day always falls on St Patrick’s Day which goes down particularly well with the Irish visitors.
The Grade One races to take place over the four days are the Champion Hurdle (Day One), Queen Mother Champion Chase (Day Two), Stayers’ Hurdle (Day Three) and the main spectacle of the whole meeting the Gold Cup (Day Four).
Aintree Grand National
Racecourse: Aintree, Liverpool
Dates: April 2-4, 2020
Big Race: Grand National, £1,000,000 prize money
The Aintree Grand National is the most valuable jump race in Europe, and is the most popular race around, with a number of people betting or watching the race who do not usually follow racing.
It is known as the ultimate test of horse and rider and we have witnessed many great runnings of the race over the years.
Irish Grand National
Racecourse: Fairyhouse,
Dates: April 11-13, 2020
Big Race: Irish Grand National, €575,000 prize money
The Irish equivalent of the Grand National was first run in 1870 and was famously won by Desert Orchid in 1990, one of the greatest horses in the history of the sport.
Scottish Grand National
Racecourse, Ayr, Ayrshire
Dates: April 17-18, 2020
Big Race: Scottish Grand National, £215,000 prize money
First run back in 1858 the Scottish Grand National course consists of 32 fences. Three horses have won the race on three occasions, but more recently Paul Nicholls’ Vicente made it back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017.
Open Meeting
Racecourse: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Dates: November 13-15, 2020
Ladbrokes Trophy Festival
Racecourse: Newbury, Berkshire
Dates: 27-28 November 2020
Newbury’s most-high profile meeting of the season takes place late in November.
Tingle Creek Christmas Festival
Racecourse: Sandown Park, Surrey
Dates: 4-5 December 2020
Race: Tingle Creek Chase
The feature day holds two Grade One races in the shape of the Henry V111 Novices Chase and the Tingle Creek Chase, where there is an impressive list of previous champions which include the likes of Desert Orchid, Moscow Flyer, Kauto Star, Sprinter Sacre and most recently Defi Du Seuil.
Winter Festival
Racecourse: Kempton Park, Surrey
Dates: 26-27 December 2020
Big Race: King George VI Chase
There’s 12 top quality Jump races packed in to two days of racing over the festive period with the feature races including the Christmas Hurdle, Kauto Star Novices’ Chase and the King George VI Steeple Chase.
Welsh Grand National
Racecourse: Chepstow, Monmouthshire
Dates: 27 December 2020
Big Race: Welsh Grand National
This is another highlight over the festive period where a host of classy handicappers big for glory in the Chepstow showpiece.
A number of winners looks to use the race as a springboard to Aintree Grand National glory in April and previous winners of the races include Bindaree and Silver Birch, while 2016 winner Native River went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2018.
Flat:
Guineas Festival
Racecourse: Newmarket, Suffolk
Dates: 2-3 May 2020
Big Race: 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas £500,000 prize money
The first two Classics of the year take place over the Rowley Mile, with the 2,000 Guineas the first leg of the Triple Crown, followed by the Derby and the St Leger.
Dante Festival
Racecourse: York, Yorkshire
Dates: 13-15 May 2020
Big Races: Dante Stakes, Yorkshire Cup
The Muidora is a leading trial for the Oaks, while the Dante is a big indicator for the Derby, as is the Yorkshire Cup for Royal Ascot.
Epsom Derby Festival
Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey
Dates: 5-6 June 2020
Big Races: Epsom Derby and Oaks, £1.5million prize money
Deemed the Greatest Flat Race in the World, the Derby is the pinnacle of two top days of racing action at Epsom.
The Coronation Cup and Oaks warm up the action ahead of the big race of the meeting, which is also Britain’s richest horse race and the most prestigious of the five Classics.
Royal Ascot
Racecourse: Ascot, Berkshire
Dates: 16-20 June 2020
Race: Ascot Gold Cup
Royal Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting which attracts many of the world’s finest racehorses to compete for over £7.3million of prize money.
Black Caviar, Yeats and the great Frankel are just some of the big name horses to win the Group One races during the five-day Royal meeting.
Eclipse Summer Festival
Racecourse: Sandown Park, Surrey
Dates: 3-4 July 2020
Big Race: Eclipse Stakes
Named after a 18th century racehorse, it was at one stage the richest ever race in Britain, and there’s £750,000 prize money available for the feature race.
It proved to be a memorable win last year for jockey Oisin Murphy aboard Roaring Lion as he picked up his first Group One winner
Sir Michael Stoute became the joint leading trainer in 2017 when winning his sixth Eclipse Stakes with Ulysses.
July Festival
Racecourse: Newmarket, Suffolk
Dates: 9-11 July 2020
Big Race: July Cup.
There’s three days of racing over the July track at Newmarket with the highlight being the July Cup, which is Europe’s leading sprint race.
Lester Pigott leads the way as the jockey to have won the big race on the most ocassions – a staggering 10-time winner, while the race will also go down in history as the first Group One winner for female jockey Hayley Turner who won the race in 2011 on Dream Ahead.
King George weekend
Racecourse: Ascot, Surrey
Dates: 24-25 July 2020
Big Race: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, £1.2million prize money.
With the exception of Royal Ascot, King George weekend is the most important, historic and glamourous racing meeting in Ascot’s calendar.
The feature races on day one are the Brown Jack Stakes and the Valiant Stakes, before the showpiece race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which has long been regarded as Europe’s premier midseason middle-distance championship race.
The 2019 edition of the wonderful faeature race saw a wonderful battle between Crystal Ocean and Enable.
Glorious Goodwood
Racecourse: Goodwood, Sussex
Dates: 28 July- 1 August 2020
Big Race: Sussex Stakes and Stewards Cup
Glorious Goodwood is one of the highlights of the flat-racing season where five days of excellent racing is witnessed.
Day One’s big race is the Goodwood Cup, before the £1million Sussex Stakes attracts a world-class field on Day Two.
Day Four’s highlight is the King George Stakes before the Stewards Cup rounds off a wonderful five days of racing.
Ebor Festival
Racecourse: York, Yorkshire
Dates: 22-25 August 2020
Big Race: Juddmonte Stakes, Ebor
Four days of racing action come to York with the Juddmonte International – the course’s richest race of the season kicking the action off in style. A previous winner of the race is Frankel, considered by some as the best thoroughbred horse in history.
Another horse racing great, Enable, won the Yorkshire Oaks, the feature race on day two of the festival.
Friday’s big race is the Nunthorpe which has been ranked as the highest rated 1,000m sprint previously, before the Ebor, York’s oldest and most famous race, rounds off the racing.
St Leger Festival
Racecourse: Doncaster, Yorkshire
Dates: 12 September 2020
Big Race: St Leger, £743,000 prize money
The flagship day of the Festival, St Leger Day attracts over 25,000 racegoers.
The St Leger Stakes brings the four-day festival to a dramatic climax and is the final leg of the English Triple Crown which begins with the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby.
In 2019, the John Gosden-trained Logician was an impressive winner of the race, giving jockey Frankie Dettori a sixth win in the race
Future Champions weekend
Racecourse: Newmarket, Suffolk
Dates: 9-10 October 2020
Big Race: Dewhurst Stakes, £500,000 prize money.
This is the highlight of the Gold season at Newmarket with Ladies Day on the Friday, before the racing takes centre stage on Saturday with the Cesarewitch Handicap and the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.
British Champions Day
Racecourse: Ascot, Berkshire
Dates: 17 October 2020
The Flat racing season draws to a close with the British Champions Day at Ascot, the most valuable day’s racing in the history of the sport in Britain.
Prize money across the six-race card, the culmination of the season-long British Champions Series, will be a record £4.35million.
Major flat winners from 2019
2000 Guineas Stakes – Magna Grecia
1000 Guineas Stakes – Hermosa
Lockinge Stakes – Mustashry
Coronation Cup – Defoe
Oaks Stakes – Anapurna
Derby Stakes – Anthony Van Dyck
Queen Anne Stakes – Lord Glitters
King’s Stand Stakes – Blue Point
St. James’s Palace Stakes – Circus Maximus
Prince of Wales’s Stakes – Crystal Ocean
Gold Cup – Stradivarius
Commonwealth Cup – Advertise
Coronation Stakes – Alpha Centauri
Diamond Jubilee Stakes – Blue Point
Eclipse Stakes – Enable
Falmouth Stakes – Veracious
July Cup – Ten Sovereigns
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes – Enable
Goodwood Cup – Stradivarius
Sussex Stakes – Too Darn Hot
Nassau Stakes – Deidre
International Stakes – Japan
Yorkshire Oaks – Enable
Nunthorpe Stakes – Battaash
Sprint Cup – Hello Youmzain
St Leger Stakes – Logician
Cheveley Park Stakes – Fairyland
Middle Park Stakes – Millisle
Sun Chariot Stakes – Billesdon Brook
Fillies’ Mile – Quadrilateral
Dewhurst Stakes – Pinatubo
British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes – Star Catcher
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – King Of Change
Champion Stakes – Magical
British Champions Sprint Stakes – Donjuan Triumphant
Vertem Futurity Trophy – Kameko
Major National Hunt winners from 2019-20
Betfair Chase – Lostintranslation
Fighting Fifth Hurdle – Cornerstone Lad
Henry VIII Novices’ Chase – Dynamite Dollars
Tingle Creek Chase – Defi Du Seuil
Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – Slate House
Christmas Hurdle – Epatante
King George VI Chase – Clan Des Obeaux
Challow Novices’ Hurdle – Thyme Hill
Now you have read the complete guide to this year’s horse racing why not learn how to bet on the sport? Here’s our guide to all you need to know. Looking for more sports and news? Check out our live sports betting page for everything you need.
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