Cheltenham Festival
- 15 – 18th March
- Cheltenham Racecourse
- Feature races – Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Festival is known as the biggest meeting in the national hunt calendar. It’s held every March with the feature race being the Gold Cup on the Friday. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer at the Cheltenham Festival with 78 wins and Ruby Walsh is the most successful jockey with 59 wins.
Scottish Grand National
- 1st – 2nd April
- Ayr Racecourse
- Feature races – Scottish Champion Hurdle and Scottish Grand National
The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 run over a distance of about 4 miles. In 1974, Red Rum became the only horse to win the Scottish and English Grand National in the same year. Peter Scudamore won the race twice in 1987 and 1992. In 2021, Peter’s son, Tom Scudamore, won the race for the first time aboard Mighty Thunder for Lucinda Russell.
Grand National Festival
- 7th– 9th April
- Aintree Racecourse
- Feature races – JLT Melling Steeple Chase, Topham Steeple Chase and the Grand National
The Grand National is held annually at Aintree racecourse and is run over 4 miles 2 furlongs. The horses will jump 30 fences in the race and some of the fences are well known, like The Chair, Becher’s Brook and the Canal Turn. It’s also the richest national hunt race in Europe.
Irish Grand National
- 18th April
- Fairyhouse Racecourse
The Irish Grand National is run on the final day of Fairyhouse’s Easter meeting and is run over a distance of 3 miles and 5 furlongs.
Punchestown Festival
- 26th – 30th April
- Punchestown Racecourse
- Feature races – Champion Chase, Punchestown Gold Cup, Champion Stayers’ Hurdle and Champion Hurdle
The Punchestown Festival is Ireland biggest national hunt meeting and is held over five days with 40 races taking place, and it includes 12 Grade 1s. The feature race of the festival is the Punchestown Gold Cup, which is held on day 2 of the meeting.
QIPCO Guineas Festival
- 29th April – 1st May
- Newmarket Racecourse
- Feature races – 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas
The QIPCO Guineas Festival will be held over 3 days for first time in 2022 with the 2000 Guineas being the feature race on Day 2, and the 1000 Guineas being the feature race on Day 3. The 2000 and 1000 Guineas are both run over a mile and it’s the first chance the 3-year-olds get at Classic glory. Both races form the first leg of the Triple Crown, followed by the Derby and Oaks at Epsom and then finishing with the St Leger at Doncaster in September.
Kentucky Derby
- 7th May
- Churchill Downs Racecourse
The Kentucky Derby is held annually at Churchill Downs and it’s a Grade 1 race for three-year-olds. The race is run over a distance of 1 mile and a quarter on dirt. In America, it’s described as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”. It’s also the first leg of the Triple Crown, which is then followed by the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes.
Epsom Derby Festival
- 3rd – 4th June
- Epsom Racecourse
- Feature races – Epsom Oaks and Epsom Derby
The Epsom Derby Festival is held over 2 spectacular days on the Epsom Downs. The Epsom Oaks is a Group 1 for the fillies and is the feature race on Day 1. The Epsom Derby is a Group 1 for the colts and is the feature race on Day 2. The Epsom Derby is also the richest flat race in Britain and is the most prestigious of all 5 Classics. Both the Derby and Oaks are run over a distance on 1 mile 4 furlongs.
Royal Ascot
- 14th – 18th June
- Ascot Racecourse
- Feature races – St James’ Palace Stakes, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, The Gold Cup, Coronation Stakes and The Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Royal Ascot is one of most prestigious horse racing meetings in the world. It’s held over 5 days with the Royal Procession beginning each day at 2pm when the Queen and other members of the Royal Family arrive down the straight mile in the Royal Landaus. Royal Ascot is Britain’s most valuable race meeting and it attracts all the best racehorses from around the world. There are eighteen Group races across the 5 days, with eight of them being Group 1s.
The Summer Festival
- 1st – 2nd July
- Sandown Park Racecourse
- Feature race – Eclipse
The Summer Festival features 2 days of the very best Flat racing held at Sandown Park. The Group 1 Eclipse is run over a mile and a quarter on Day 2 of the meeting. This is the first major opportunity for the Classic generation of three-year-olds to face their older rivals.
July Festival
- 7th – 9th July
- Newmarket Racecourse (July Course)
- Feature race – Darley July Cup
The July Festival is held over 3 days on the July course with the feature race being the Group 1 Darley July Cup which is held on the final day of the meeting. The Darley July Cup is run over six furlongs and is one of the most prestigious sprint races in Britain. Horses often travel from all over the world to run in this race.
King George Weekend
- 23rd – 24th July
- Ascot Racecourse
- Feature race – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes
This is Ascot’s summer showpiece meeting with the Grade 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes being the feature race. It’s run over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlong and is open to all age groups. The race in 2022 will be worth £875,000, making it Britain’s second richest race with only The Derby being worth more. The winner now also receives an automatic invitation to compete in the same year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Glorious Goodwood Festival
- 26th – 30th July
- Goodwood Racecourse
- Feature Races – Goodwood Cup, Nassau Stakes, King George Stakes, Stewards’ Cup
The five-day ‘Glorious Goodwood’ meeting is one of the highlights of the British horse racing season. The featured race on day one of the festival is the Goodwood Cup, while the biggest race on the final day of the meeting is the prestigious Stewards’ Cup.
York Ebor Festival
- 17th – 20th August
- York Racecourse
- Feature Races – Juddmonte International Stakes, Darley Yorkshire Oaks, Nunthorpe Stakes and York Ebor Handicap.
The York Ebor Festival is one of the most popular racing meetings in the UK and it attracts owners and trainers from all over the world. The Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes is run on the first day of the meeting and is the most valuable race of the week. It all ends on the Saturday with the Ebor Handicap which is now the most valuable flat handicap in Europe.
St Leger Festival
- 7th – 10th September
- Doncaster Racecourse
- Feature race – St Leger Stakes
The St Leger Festival is undeniably the jewel in the crown for Doncaster racecourse as it hosts the oldest and final Classic of the season with the St Leger Stakes being run on the last day of the meeting.
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe
- 2nd October
- Longchamp Racecourse
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat race open to all age groups and ran over a distance of about 1 mile 4 furlongs. It’s one of the most prestigious races in Europe and it’s also the world’s second richest turf race.
Melbourne Cup
- 1st November
- Flemington Racecourse
The Melbourne Cup is the richest 2-mile handicap in the world and one the most prestigious races in the world. It’s known as the race that stops a nation and a crowd of over 100,000 people attend Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington racecourse.
Breeders’ Cup
- 4th – 5th November
- Keenland Racecourse
- Feature races, Breeders Cup Classic, Breeders Cup Turf and Breeders Cup Mile
The Breeders’ Cup meeting is one of the biggest and best meetings in the world with all the best horses from all over batting it out in Grade 1 races across 2 thrilling days. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is the most valuable race at $6 million and is the final race run on the second day of the meeting.
The November Meeting
- 11th – 13th November
- Cheltenham Racecourse
- Feature races – Paddy Power Gold Cup and Greatwood Hurdle
The November meeting at Cheltenham is the first major jumps festival of the season and the first chance for the top national hunt trainers in the UK and Ireland to go head-to-head with their star horses.
Christmas Festival
- 26th – 27th December
- Kempton Park Racecourse
- Feature races – King George VI Chase, Christmas Hurdle and The Desert Orchid Chase.
The Christmas Festival at Kempton is one of the highlights of the national hunt fixture list. The King George VI Chase is a mid-season trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with plenty of horses going on to win the big race in March. The Grade 1 race is run over 3 miles and is the feature race across the 2 days.
