A Visitor’s Guide to Newmarket
Newmarket Heath
Many of us are veterans of the Rowley Mile and July courses, but the city has so much more to offer than just running on its venerable lawn. If immersion in the equine world is your thing, there is no better place to tip than Newmarket; a self-contained all-horse idyll, set on the fringes of Cambridgeshire as the flat lands give way to the shapely folds of the beautiful West Suffolk countryside. For racing folks around the world, the place just oozes goodness.
The limestone soil of Newmarket Heath is exceptional terrain for grooming and training horses. Local tradition says that Boadicea (Boudica), the warrior queen of the Iceni, had her camp in nearby Exning and trained her horses and chariots there in the ancient wasteland. The races at Newmarket date back to 1174, the first known racing venue of the modern era.
King James I greatly increased the popularity of racing at Newmarket, and King Charles I followed this up by inaugurating the first cup race in 1634. An association that gained momentum during the Restoration of 1660 and the reign of King Charles II, which He was passionately involved with the sport and the last English monarch to ride a race winner at Newmarket. The bushes on Rowley Mile mark his favorite position for gazing at the field he devised for late summer and spring.
My favorite time to visit Rowley Mile is in October on Champions Day, Europe’s highest class single day flat race. This is an excellent meeting with an excellent mix of races, enhanced by manageable attendance levels. Unlike the Guineas competition, it is still relatively easy to achieve a good position in the paddock and for the race itself, so difficult throughout the country at other times.
So much for racing, but what about the city itself?
The national stallion
A better place to start than with a tour of the National Stud, located next to the famous Hyperion statue near the July field. From the moment the automatic doors open, it’s clear that a civilized experience awaits you – spots are booked by phone or email and you simply have to roll up and pay on arrival. Here, thanks to Mr. Phil Cunningham, we get to see the new Cockney Rebel father along with a mixed roster including Bahamian Bounty and Silver Patriarch. Then there are the paddocks with the broodmares and young foals, the male stallions, the hedge stable, the brood unit, the Mill Reefs statue and grave, plus a few famous guests: Grand National winner Amberleigh House. it has happily received visitors for several seasons.
At the National Stud, they need little indication to be confident that Newmarket Hospital does not have A&E facilities; For that, you will need to visit Cambridge. On the other hand, if any of the National Stud’s residents require emergency care, an on-site vet can be called in 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This, sir, is the horse town.
Newmarket facts
Since Herod, Matchem, and Eclipse established their reputations here, racing has developed from a hobby for a few to a massive global industry. Forty generations after the breed’s founding fathers, the city’s unique status is preserved and its commitment to the sport is stronger than ever:
100 vets
53 farms
2 ambulances on horseback
Around 2,500 horses in training with 66 trainers
A world-class equine hospital and research facility.
4,500 acres of land operated by Jockey Club Estates
9,000 acres of stallions
2 racetracks and the longest grass straight of the races
The world’s oldest and largest expanse of continuously manicured grasslands.
60 mile gallop of all descriptions
Over 50 miles of ‘horseback riding’ linking stables and gallops
Trigger-operated lights, located at the rider’s height, at each crosswalk
On average, 2 work jockeys are fatally injured each year on gallops.
Visiting the gallops
The nature of a first encounter with Newmarket is largely determined by the season. In winter, an eerie calm permeates the city, but one spring morning arrives and something of its true purpose is revealed. Hundreds of racehorses emerge from hidden stables around every corner and quickly take over; on the highways, getting in and out of cars and, despite horseback riding, jogging on the roads unoccupied by pedestrians.
Whatever the day, the best vantage point is at the elevated position of the most famous gallop in racing, Warren Hill, located near the city center off Moulton Road. The last time I was there, leaning against the railing, I looked across and found an HRA that Cecil had erected awaiting the arrival of the owners. Here you will find yourself amongst other gallop watchers, owners and trainers (often loaded with the most unlikely looking tricks), as a proportion of the best thoroughbreds in the UK scramble uphill and back within a few meters of the lane border that marks the limit of public access before 1:00 p.m.
Take Bury Road down to the Limekilns ‘Bury side’ canter or across town to Newmarket Heath ‘Racecourse side’ and the story is the same, miles and miles of carefully cared for canter. It’s universally easy to park and carefully observe on the sidelines, ideally armed with a pair of 10×50 binoculars. Godolphin riders and staff are easily identifiable by the royal blue ‘Emirates’ jackets and whatever your point of view on their position within the sport, the image of an immaculate Godolphin chain displayed on a cool Newmarket morning is one of the most moving sights in racing.
In the center of the city, near the clock tower and BP station, is ‘The Varios’, where numerous ropes converge to circle and prepare before crossing the Bury Highway to ascend Warren Hill.
Guided visits
Another way to get closer to Newmarket is to sign up for a guided tour, which in most cases includes the benefit of a visit to the yard or stallion and entry to the National Museum of Horse Racing and / or the National Stallion. In all cases it is essential to book in advance:
The Newmarket experience
Their 2008 calendar of events included special tours of Sir Michael Stout’s Freemason Yard and Luca Cumani’s Bedford House Stables. They also organize a series of private tours of Sheikh Mohammad’s Dalham Hall Stud, the world center of Darley’s blood business, and all-day racing tours culminating with a visit to the Newmarket races.
Newmarket Racetracks
Provide race day tours of the Rowley Mile field, with options to go behind the scenes and be guided by a ‘racing legend’.
Newmarket Connections
Offer complete tour packages for groups of 20 or more, or customized VIP packages for small groups of up to 6, which in addition to the above may include the Equine Hospital, Tattersalls Sales Paddocks, the Jockey Club and the British Racing School.
Hoofbeats tours
Operated by trainer Julia Fielden’s husband, John, from his yard office in Exning near Newmarket. Small informal groups of up to 6 people take a tour of the courtyard, the Newmarket gallops, the British Racing School and the National Stud.
The Jockey Club
Although the Jockey Club has once again moved to London, two and a half centuries of equestrian tradition lives on in this most impressive building located at The Jockey Club Rooms, 101 High Street. From the moment you enter the elegant Georgian ballroom, you are transported into an era of understated luxury and aristocratic privilege. With antiques and important equine art in every room from Stubbs, Herring and Munning, a visit here leaves an indelible impression. Excursions are organized for groups of 20 or more. High standard overnight accommodation is also offered, along with options for dinner and breakfast.
Tattersalls
It constantly amazes me how few race goers take the opportunity to visit Tattersalls on sale days. It’s free, and while it’s not officially recommended, as long as you don’t bother, no one is going to complain if you live a bit in the auction room, even if you don’t actually intend to bid on anything. There are two bars and a canteen-style dining room where, in addition to the ring, you’ll rub shoulders with a who’s who of racing. Many of the more well-known trainers in the business smile seriously (a more cynical guy might say nervously) at their wealthy clients during brunch.
Tattersalls Yearling Book 1 remains the world’s premier blood reserve auction. Auctions are also deliberately timed to coincide with Newmarket race meetings; someone has clearly thought of this. Tattersalls’ Park Paddocks is located right in the center of town, near the train station.
West Suffolk and the Stud Lands
If you are unfamiliar with Suffolk, I urge you not to leave Newmarket without taking a walk through the beautiful wavy stallions that project southeast of Newmarket along Duchess Drive, home to Dalham Hall and Chevely Park Studs. On one side of the road now reside: New Approach, Halling and Manduro and on the other Pivotal, Medician and Dutch Art. Continue on Saxon Street; turn left onto Cheveley Road and follow to Saxon Street Road and you will find Juddmont Farms Banstead Manor Stud, your European operation which is now among others: Oasis Dream and Zamindar.
Near the town of Dalham is the charming Affleck Arms Pub, frequented by none other than the ever-interesting Mr. John Egan. Follow your nose southeast and the glories of the Suffolk / Essex borders await, through ancient medieval towns and quintessential English countryside. For those old enough to remember, this is the country of ‘Lovejoy’, Long Melford and the incomparable Lavenham. An England of wood frames and thatched roofs, of tall spiers and spreading chestnut trees; Imagine perfect towns born from the most prosperous region of medieval England.
So this is Newmarket. A city that has, on average, just under a third of all the British race winners in a season, with many of them concentrating on the best quality races. Newmarket in the morning is a surreal place, bustling with the activities of hundreds of centaur-like figures, carefree but serious, as if they did not realize the danger and the absurdity of responding to the dreams of rich men, teaching the horses from racing to running faster. A serene equine world happily coexisting alongside carefully dressed Arabian gentlemen in Barbour and flat caps, vaguely aware of the business world in general, but for many only to the extent reported in the Racing Post.
And you see, I love it in pieces.
Helpful Links:
nationalstud.co.uk
newmarketexperience.co.uk
jockey-club-estates.co.uk