2024 Horse Racing Fixtures

Horse racing events happen every day of the week in the UK and are always a great day out, or equally enjoyable to watch at home.

However, the very best of the action is reserved for the many festivals that UK racetracks play host to throughout the National Hunt and Flat racing calendars. These festivals are usually between two and four days long and promise to pack numerous Graded or Group races into their duration, thereby being the only places to watch the sport’s top-rated horses perform at the highest level.

Keep reading for a brief guide to the most significant horse racing fixtures of 2024.

The Cheltenham Festival

• 12th March – 15th March
• Cheltenham
• Jumps

This four-day festival is one of the, if not the most, exciting fixtures of the National Hunt Season. Held towards the end of the season, this race meeting is where all of the biggest players from the previous months come together to determine which horses are truly the best of the best. With Grade 1 races on every day of the fixture, it’s an unmissable opportunity to see the best horses on what is often their final run of the season before going on their summer holidays.

Bet on the Cheltenham Festival

The Grand National Festival

• 11th April – 13th April
• Aintree Racecourse
• Jumps

The ever-popular Grand National Festival is held at Aintree Racecourse and really marks the end of the Jumps season, being the penultimate big meeting of the campaign. It’s a three-day fixture which builds up towards the Grand National on Saturday – the final day. The Grand National itself is a particularly special race because, despite being as prestigious and popular as some Grade 1s from earlier in the season, it’s a Grade 3 race that can be entered by amateur riders. There is no better test of endurance than this course of more than four miles over the famous Aintree spruce. Eleven Grade 1 races take place over the rest of the festival, though none generate as much national interest as the Grand National itself.

Bet on the Grand National Festival

Royal Ascot

• 18th June – 22nd June
• Ascot Racecourse
• Flat

Royal Ascot is revered across the world as the peak of the Flat racing season. It’s a five-day festival known for its top-class racing, style and millinery. Royal Ascot winning horses are highly desirable to owners, trainers and jockeys alike.

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Ebor Festival

• 21st August – 24th August
• York Racecourse
• Flat

Centred around the Ebor Handicap, this four-day meeting has its origins in the early 1700s, when York Racecourse was the second UK track to formulate a structured race program. Today, the Ebor Festival is a highly fashionable occasion, with top-quality races including the Yorkshire Oaks, the Gimcrack Stakes and the Ebor Handicap itself. It is the highlight of the year’s racing in the North of England.

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The St Leger Festival

• 12th September – 15th September
• Doncaster Racecourse
• Flat

Held at Doncaster Racecourse, this is a four-day late summer festival of Flat racing which culminates in the St Leger Stakes; the final leg of the Triple Crown and one of the classics. It’s a thrilling opportunity to see horses who have made names for themselves over the summer, in addition to old favourites, as they battle their way to the finish line.

Bet on the St. Leger Festival

The Christmas Festival

• 26th December – 27th December
• Kempton Park Racecourse
• Jumps

This two-day festival of National Hunt racing at Kempton Park Racecourse is always popular due to the star horses, jockeys and trainers it attracts every year, not to mention its addition of a little festive spirit. The feature races of this Festival include the Grade 1 King George VI Chase, the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase.

Bet on the Christmas Festival

Check out the latest horse racing betting odds at William Hill