• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cheltenham Betting Offers

  • Home
  • Free Bets
  • Meetings
    • New Year’s Day Meeting
    • Festival Trials Day
    • Cheltenham Festival
    • April Meeting
    • Race Night
    • Showcase Meeting
    • November Meeting
    • International Meeting
  • News
  • Articles
    • Stats & Trends

How Many Horse Races Are There Each Year In The UK?

August 31, 2022

cheltenham parade ring information board showing horses lining up to start a raceOrganised horse racing in the United Kingdom has been around for many centuries, first starting out during the reign of King Charles II. Even so, horse racing in general had been taking place long before that, with the earliest of them thought to have been held in Yorkshire in around 200 AD by Roman soldiers. In the 17th century, King James I played a key role in introducing horse racing to Newmarket, and once Charles II came to the throne a few years later, it really started flourishing in the country.

Throughout the decades, it has remained popular with spectators, who travel from all over to experience a horse racing event. And that remains the case today, too. But with its growing popularity, how many horse races are held today to satisfy the demand for it? We know of the many top-tier races, such as Ascot and the Grand National, but are there any others beyond these? Well, as it happens, there is a large number of horse races taking place on an annual basis, and it looks as though British racing is poised to continue prospering into 2023.

Here, we’ll take a closer look at the number of horse racing events taking place every year in the United Kingdom, as well as how this figure has grown over the decades. According to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), this spectator sport is responsible for generating £3.39 billion direct and indirect expenditure in the British economy (as of 2009). Therefore, it’s clear to see that horse racing is here to stay. The question is, has it become saturated with events throughout the year, or is there room for further growth?

The British Horseracing Authority Has the Answers

Race Type Breakdown Number Run Total Number Run
Jump Hurdle 9,726 18,019
Chase 6,519
Flat Turf 18,231 30,995
All-Weather Track 12,764

The BHA serves as the governing body for horse racing in the United Kingdom, and it also has a variety of useful statistics to take note of, too. Looking at the data published by the BHA, it is possible to see the number of races that took place on the flat, as well as the number of races that took place over jumps.

Additionally, jump racing is broken down into those races featuring hurdles, with the others being considered as chases. Flat racing, on the other hand, occurs on either turf or an all-weather track in the UK.  Current data takes figures from 2017 up to 2021, which can be seen above.

Combining the two total number run figures for horse racing between 2017 and 2021, it is evident to see that 49,015 races have taken place across the United Kingdom. Of course, 2020 saw a significant decline due to the impact of COVID-19 stopping events from taking place. Therefore, in the last five years, that year had the smallest number of horse races, totalling 7,882 altogether, in comparison to the usual norm of more than 10,000 per year.

That data relates to the number of races run, rather than the number of fixtures set up for entering each year. Each of the fixtures in place have numerous horse races taking place within them, and there has been quite the dramatic shift in the number of fixtures in the UK over the past 37 years.

If you were to look back in time to 1986, then you would see that just under 1,000 horse racing fixtures occurred for the year. This had a slight increase for the proceeding three years, but then a large jump in 1990. It remained quite static for several years after this but crossed the 1,250 line in 2003. By 2008, there were 1,500 horse racing fixtures taking place for the year, and this has remained quite the average level ever since.

packed-cheltenham-stands-at-the-festival

The 2023 fixtures list was published on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, and many people within the horse racing sphere have stated that it looks quite identical to this year’s list. The publication of next year’s fixtures coincided with a new announcement relating to an increase in the minimum race values in order to boost international competitiveness of top races and prevent those horses rated higher from leaving Britain. Just four events are absent from the 2023 fixtures in comparison to the 2022 list, totalling 1,478 meetings.

When compared with the total of 989 meetings for 1986, there has been a 49% increase to the 1,478 for 2023. And there have been some changes to the fixtures for 2023 too, including alterations to the St Leger festival in Doncaster. This will be hosted as a Thursday-to-Sunday meeting, while the Christmas break will be reduced to two days for the first time since it occurred this way back in 2017. Four fixtures will therefore play out on Saturday, December 23. And the Grand National is due to be held on its latest ever date of April 15.

What is interesting to note is that over the course of the past five years, almost double the number of flat racing fixtures were staged in comparison to jump racing. In 2020, around 400 fixtures were lost from the horse racing calendar, with roughly 250 of those being flat fixtures and just below 200 being jumps. Furthermore, over the five years noted by the BHA, 1,077 fixtures were abandoned, while 17 were partially abandoned.

Afternoon fixtures remain the most frequent occurrences on the calendar, with 4,976 taking place at this time, equating to 77.15% in the past five years. Twilight races held came to 1,280 (19.83%) and evening races stood at 195 (3.02%).

Not All Horse Races Are Televised…. But Are Enough Meetings Taking Place?

Year Number of Fixtures Scheduled Number of Specific Races Held
1986 989 Flat: 474     Jumps: 515
1990 1125 Flat: 580     Jumps: 545
1995 1,100 Flat: 511  Jumps: 460  AWT: 129
2003 1,220 Flat: 573  Jumps: 497  AWT: 150
2007 1,330 Flat: 542  Jumps: 482  AWT: 306
2008 1,423 Flat: 559  Jumps: 505  AWT: 359
2019 1,444 Flat: 538  Jumps: 546  AWT: 360
2021 1,437 Flat: 548  Jumps: 539  AWT: 350

While most people tend to think of Cheltenham, Ascot, the Grand National and so on as being what horse racing is all about, that’s not quite true. Many other meetings occur throughout the year which do not get as much conversation going about them and aren’t televised for everyone to view. In fact, of the 49,015 races run over the past five years, just 1,269 of them made it to television – that’s a 2.59% figure.

Therefore, it is easy to understand that a lot more horse races take place per year than the average person in the UK really knows about. Have a look at the racing fixture list from the last 37 years in table above to see how much growth the industry has gone through.

Prior to 1995, there is no data available when it comes to AWT races, but it is highly clear to see that the number of horse race meetings per year has significantly increased since 1986. Of course, it is also obvious to note that in more recent times, there hasn’t been such a huge adjustment in terms of the fixtures, which have lingered around the 1,400+ mark since 2008. And the 2023 list looks like it will have a very similar layout for avid fans of the races to enjoy, with 1,478 on the schedule.

willie mullins and paul townend recive trophies for winning the ballymore novices hurdle at cheltenham festival

Speaking on the fact that the fixtures for 2023 look very similar to the 2022 setup, the Chief Executive of the Racecourse Association (RCA), David Armstrong, said that British racing would continue to pull in crowds and revenue. The association has been labelled by trainer Ralph Beckett as an “immovable object” when referring to any progress it could make. Having had major triumphs at events like the Oaks, St Leger and Irish Derby, Beckett ended up at loggerheads with the RCA when discussing the lack of progress being made.

While the trainer did comment positively on the increase in minimum values, he said that the number of races taking place each year needs to be addressed urgently. “The obvious and fundamental need is for the race programme to fit the horse population”, Beckett noted. Speaking on the Nick Luck Daily podcast, he continued on to say that while Peter Savill’s plan relating to providing assistance with restructuring horse racing is “well thought out and very sound”, he has a fear that “vested interests will try to block parts of it”.

Beckett went on to state that he believes everyone involved with the RCA within the last five years would agree that they are immovable when it comes to progress. Of course, those views were rejected by Armstrong. He claimed that many racecourse representatives had been involved in creating the work thought up by Savill. “…I agree that there are some really good ideas in there, which we look forward to discussing as part of the industry strategy meeting on September 19 and 20”, the CEO of RCA said. Armstrong also noted that the association is very much not against change, it’s just that they want to make the correct change.

“For the 2023 fixture list, we were already running out of time, but what’s not published yet is the race programme, so there’s still an opportunity to introduce new ideas”, he said. This led to him noting that the BHA has submitted a variety of potential adjustments, which, while individually are quite small changes, are valuable as a collection. Unfortunately, the trainers had no interest in discussing them, according to Armstrong.

How Does the Future Look for the Number of Horse Races Taking Place in the UK?

horses jump a fence during a cheltenham festival raceWhile it is difficult to predict the future for anything, Mr. Armstrong did say that he is “optimistic” that some exciting changes and innovations will be introduced for the 2024 fixtures. Yet he was also swift to comment on the fact that the UK is “in the middle of an economic crisis”, making it hard to distinguish one effect from another. However, he spoke of the issue of competitiveness as being a big one for horse racing.

In fact, it is hoped by Armstrong and the RCA that some of Peter Savill’s ideas for horse racing will finally be implemented or at least looked into for the industry. He identified two major issues to be addressed – small field sizes and what was described as “basically a horse drain, or a loss of horses at the top end”, when also appearing on the Nick Luck Daily podcast. He went on to say that “British prize money has gone up to the point when in 2022 it’s going to be £170 million”.

The problem is that all other countries have done the same but at a lot faster pace than the UK, particularly in the United States of America. “Those horses that are rated in the 80-85 range are getting offers of up to £200k to £250k to go off to America and run straight off the plane and win maidens that are worth $100,000”, commented Savill.

all weather horse race track

He suggested that a major redirection of prize money should occur, with the largest part of it going to the bigger tracks and meetings, especially when it comes to weekend events. Whether or not the RCA will follow through with such an idea, or indeed anything else that Savill suggested, remains to be seen for 2024.

Another element to be discussed is the jumps review, which should also occur in September. Therefore, Armstrong expects that the adjustments there will affect the 2024 fixture list. Whether that means even more fixtures and/or races will take place in the UK as a result is anyone’s guess. A maximum of five fixtures on any Saturday afternoon and four ‘code breaks’ are the rules currently in place. Could it be the case that more are capable of being introduced for this day or for the weekend entirely?

Primary Sidebar

Cheltenham Free Bets

Meetings at Cheltenham

  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Champion Day
    • Ladies Day
    • St Patrick’s Thursday
    • Gold Cup Day
  • Festival Trials Day
  • New Year’s Day
  • November Meeting
    • Countryside Day
    • Gold Cup Day
    • November Meeting Sunday
  • Race Night
  • Showcase Meeting
    • The Showcase Friday
    • The Showcase Saturday
  • The April Meeting
    • April Meeting Day One
    • April Meeting Day Two
  • The International Meeting
    • International Friday
    • International Saturday

Race Types

  • Amateur Races
  • Championship Races
  • Conditions Races
  • Cross Country Races
  • Cup Races
  • Fillies' Races
  • Grade 1 Races
  • Grade 2 Races
  • Grade 3 Races
  • Handicap Races
  • Hurdle Races
  • Juvenile Races
  • Listed Races
  • Maiden Races
  • Mares' Races
  • Novices' Races
  • Premier Handicap Races
  • Standard Open Flat Races
  • Steeplechase Races
  • Trial Races
  • Trophy Races
  • Discontinued Races

Latest News

  • Aintree & Cheltenham Amongst Jockey Club Courses To Drop Dress Code
  • What Can Be Done To Combat Race Fixing In Horse Racing?
  • Jockeys Are Struggling With The New Whip Rules
  • Cheltenham Festival Trials Day Likely To Go Ahead As Temperatures Rise This Week
  • BHA Whips Rules Changed At The Last Minute Following A Jockey Backlash

Articles

  • Who Are The BHA?
  • Origins Of Steeplechasing
  • Is Horse Racing Too Traditional? Why Is It So Confusing?
  • Robot Horse Racing
  • Are There More Fatalities On Hard Ground In Horse Racing?
  • Types Of Jump Racing Fences
  • Biggest Comebacks In Horse Racing
  • Difference Between A Hurdle & A Fence In Jump Racing
  • What Are Hurdles & Fences Made From?
  • Why Are Race Distances Measured In Miles, Furlongs & Yards
  • Stag And Hen Do's At Cheltenham
  • Each-Way vs Place Betting: Which Is Better?
  • What Are Final Declarations
  • Does Illegal Horse Racing Still Happen?
  • What Is Pony Racing? How Is It Different To Horse Racing?
  • Ladies At The Races
  • What Do Nose, Head, Neck and Length Mean?
  • What Is A Furlong?
  • When Is A Race Declared Void?
  • False Starts In Horse Racing
  • What Are Official Ratings in Horse Racing?
  • Can You Run A Race With Only One Horse?
  • What Is Point To Point Racing
  • Best Day Of The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Train a Racehorse?
  • Cheltenham Festival Ticket Types
  • How Much Does Racing Make From The Betting Levy?
  • Are There Less Horse Deaths In Racing Today?
  • Origins Of Jockey Silks In Horse Racing & Rules
  • Can A Jockey Remount A Horse?
  • What Happens If No Horse Wins A Race?
  • Why Do Horses Jump Fences?
  • How High and Far Can A Horse Jump?
  • Use Of The Whip In Horse Racing
  • What Are The Different Types Of Racehorses?
  • Who Sponsors Cheltenham Races
  • How Do Racehorse Owner Syndicates Work?
  • How Much Do Racehorses Weigh?
  • How Does Travelling Affect Racehorse Performance?
  • What PPE Do Jockeys Wear And Why?
  • Can Racehorses Overheat?
  • Benefits Of Owning Race Horses
  • What Is The Top Speed Of A Racehorse?
  • Do Racehorses Have Special Diets & Nutrition?
  • How Are Racehorses Transported & What Are The Rules
  • What Happened To All-Weather Jumps Racing?
  • What Was Tic Tac? The Sign Language For On-Course Bookmakers
  • The Road To Cheltenham
  • Retraining of Racehorses
  • What Happens To Retired Racehorses?
  • Horse Racing Mix-Ups
  • Youngest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • What Are Blinkers & Why Do Race Horses Wear Them?
  • How Long Do You Have To Claim A Winning Bet At A Racecourse?
  • Female Jockey Pioneers
  • Oldest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Record Jockey Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Record Trainer Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Races Record Horse Wins
  • Biggest Prize Money Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • The Life Of A Racing Jockey
  • Races With The Most Fences At The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Often Do Mares' Win At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Average Winner Age Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Longest Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Newest Races
  • How Often Does the Favourite Win at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Average Winner Odds Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Stats & Trends
  • Veganism & Horse Racing
  • Horse Doping In Horse Racing
  • Most Feared Fences In Horse Racing
  • Jockey Injuries
  • How To Become A Jockey
  • Horse Injuries
  • What Is Going In Horse Racing
  • Richest Races In Horse Racing
  • What Is The Starting Price In Racing
  • When Is The Best Time To Bet Ante-Post
  • Impact Of Wetter Winters On UK Jump Racing
  • How Long Do Racehorses Live For?
  • How Much Do Jockeys Weigh?
  • Rules For Naming Race Horses
  • What Is A Dead Heat In Horse Racing?
  • Who Would Win A Race Between A Horse And A Dog?
  • What Makes A Good Jump Stayer?
  • What Is A Stewards Enquiry?
  • Why Are Horses Disqualified and Who Decides?
  • Courses At Cheltenham: Old, New and Cross Country
  • How Are Jump Horses Trained Differently To Flat Horses?
  • Longest Odds Winners In Horse Racing History
  • How Much Money Is Bet At Cheltenham?
  • How Much Is Cheltenham Worth To The Economy?
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Owners
  • Accessibility At Cheltenham The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Oldest Race Still Running
  • Biggest Female Trainers
  • Celebrity Race Horse Owners
  • Can Jockeys, Trainers & Owners Bet?
  • British vs Irish Trainers And Stables At Cheltenham
  • Things To Do & Places To Visit In Cheltenham
  • The Royal Family And The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Be An On-Course Bookmaker?
  • How Much Money Do Race Horse Owners Make?
  • How Much Money Do Trainers Make?
  • Cheltenham Race Types
  • Cheltenham Hotels & Cheltenham Festival Accommodation
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Trainers
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
  • Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Horses
  • How Much Money Do Jockeys Make?
  • Richest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Getting To Cheltenham Racecourse
  • Cheltenham Festival vs Grand National, Which Is Better?
  • Cheltenham Racecourse History
  • Why Is The Cheltenham Festival So Big?
  • Cheltenham Festival History
  • The Prestbury Cup
  • Cheltenham Festival Quiz
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Jockey
  • Cheltenham Racecourse During The War
  • Ante-Post Betting - Risk vs Reward
  • Jump Racing Distances
  • How to Read a Race Card
  • How To Bet On Horse Racing
  • Disqualification, Non-Runners and Rule 4
  • Age, Sex and Weight in Horse Racing
  • History And About National Hunt Racing
  • A-Z Glossary Of Horse Racing Terms
  • Horse Racing News, Statistics & Blogs
  • Live Streaming of Horse Racing
  • Live Betting In Play On Horse Racing
  • Cash Out And Partial Cash Out On Horse Racing
  • Grades and Classes In National Hunt Jump Racing

Offers

  • Acca Offers For Horse Racing
  • Extra Places Each-Way & Enhanced Each Way Terms Cheltenham Festival 2023
  • Horse Racing Loyalty Free Bet Clubs
  • Horse Racing Money Back
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For The Cheltenham Festival
  • Tote and Totepool Betting
  • Lucky Bets and Bonuses For Horse Racing
  • Non-Runner No Bet
  • Free Bets And Bonuses For Winners
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For Horse Racing
  • Faller & Fail To Finish Insurance For Horse Racing

Copyright © 2023 CheltenhamBettingOffers.com | 18+ Gamble Aware | Privacy & Cookie Policy