2023. Another memorable year visiting racecourses up and down the country. We really do have some fabulous racecourses, both large and small. October saw us complete visits to all sixty UK racecourses. We even visited Hereford, Kempton Park and Lingfield Park twice in 2023 - as well as return visits to several other racecourses. Exeter was by far the wettest of our visits, Hexham the coldest, and Perth the furthest. Ludlow wins the prize for the most improved racecourse since our original visit and review, but our personal favourites were our return visit to Beverley racecourse, and our first visit to Newmarket's July Course - two fantastic racecourses (and the reason they sit first and second in our Favourite Racecourse Top Ten). In all, we notched up thirty-seven racecourse visits again in 2023, clocking up just over 11,000 miles in our cars which means that, over the last two years, we're just a few thousand miles short of having circumvented the Earth!
Bangor-on-Dee - Bath - Beverley - Brighton - Cartmel - Chelmsford City - Chester - Exeter - Fakenham - Fontwell Park - Great Yarmouth - Haydock Park - Hereford (x2) - Hexham - Huntingdon - Kelso - Kempton Park (x2) - Leicester - Lingfield Park (x2) - Ludlow - Musselburgh - Newcastle - Newmarket (July Course) - Newton Abbot - Perth - Ripon - Salisbury - Sedgefield - Taunton - Warwick - Wincanton - Windsor - Wolverhampton - Worcester
🥇 Winner - York
🥈 Second - Beverley
🥉 Third - Aintree
4 - Newmarket (July Course)
5 - Ascot
6 - Hamilton Park
7 - Chester
8 - Wetherby
9 - Sandown Park
10- Ripon
For the list of all 60 racecourses please click on the download link at the bottom of this section
🥇 Winner - Beverley
🥈 Second - Hamilton Park
🥉 Third - Wetherby
Fourth - Ripon
Fifth - Carlisle
🥇 Winner - Chelmsford City
🥈 Second - Newcastle
🥉 Third - Wolverhampton
Fourth - Lingfield Park
Fifth - Southwell
Sixth - Kempton Park
🥇 Winner - Hamilton Park
🥈 Second - Musselburgh
🥉 Third - Perth
Fourth - Kelso
Fifth - Ayr
🥇 Winner - Bangor-on-Dee
🥈 Second - Chepstow
🥉 Third - Ffos Las
🥇 Winner - York
🥈 Second - Beverley
🥉 Third - Wetherby
4 - Ripon
5 - Doncaster
6 - Thirsk
7 - Catterick
8 - Pontefract
9 - Redcar
6. York
7. Salisbury
8. Musselburgh
9. Chelmsford City
10. Bangor-on-Dee
Best Value For Money food and drink - Ludlow (Fairway Café)
Best Fish and Chips - Ripon
Best burger - Leicester (Bad Boys burger van)
Best choice of food - York
Best bacon butty - Pontefract
Best Coffee - Plumpton
Best approach to a racecourse - Newmarket (Rowley Mile Course)
Best view from a Stand - Ludlow (Jubilee Stand Roof Terrace) / Kelso (Grandstand Roof Terrace)
Best Grandstand - Ascot
Best Parade Ring - Newmarket July Course
Best Toilets - Ayr (Princess Royal Suite)
Cheapest Pint of Lager - Fakenham (Carlsberg £4.50)
Cheapest Advance Entrance Price (excl ‘specials’) - Kelso / Hexham / Huntingdon (£12)
Cheapest Racecard - Great Yarmouth / Ludlow / Perth - Free
Worst Racecourse (on ratings)
Winner - Worcester (by some margin)
Second - Ayr
Third - Cartmel
Fourth - Ffos Las
Fifth - Hereford
Worst Value for Money Racecourse - Worcester
Worst Internet reception - Worcester
Worst approach to a racecourse - Redcar (through a cemetery)
Worst choice of food - Worcester
Most Expensive Fish and Chips - Warwick (£14.50)
Most Expensive Pie - Great Yarmouth (£6.20)
Most Expensive 'cheapest' pint of Lager - Kempton Park (Madri £7.20)
Worst Winning Connections Presentation Stand - Doncaster
Most Expensive on-the-day Admission (non-festival) - Cartmel / Haydock Park (£27)
The two 'still most annoying' things -
1) Racecourses that have adopted a 'cashless' policy
2) Racecourses that do not permit 'standard' ticket holders to access the rail at the finish line
All of our reviews are sent to the racecourses shortly after our visit. However, disappointingly not all racecourses send a reply or even bother to acknowledge receipt of the review. Although most independent racecourses have sent some kind of reply, as have all three Chester Race Company Racecourses, responses from Arena Racing Company and Jockey Club racecourses have been noticeably lacking, with the exception of Newmarket Racecourse who actively do encourage feedback. Apart from Newmarket Racecourse though, only Market Rasen, Kempton Park and Huntingdon of all other Jockey Club racecourses have sent any kind of response to their review - that's only four of their fifteen racecourses. Very disappointing. In our opinion that speaks volumes. ARC-owned racecourses are no better. Only Fontwell Park, Hereford, Bath and Lingfield Park of their sixteen racecourses sent any kind of response. Perhaps these racecourses think they're beyond having to bother about (or care about) what their paying customers experience on a day at their racecourses? Arena Racing Company, in particular, really should be 'bothered' as eleven of their sixteen racecourses are in the bottom twenty of the 2blokesgoracing racecourses ratings table (see link above)! Having said that, it appears that ARC have listened as, from the start of 2024, they've dropped their ridiculous £3 fulfilment fee that they've always charged on advance tickets, so a huge thumbs-up for that 👍