Flat Race: A Comprehensive Guide to Flat Racing

We have had a fantastic tail end to the Flat racing calendar as the 2023 summer season has come to a close. This guide will comprehensively cover the key aspects of this beautiful code of horse racing as we look back at the action-packed season just gone, looking ahead to next year. 

Discover more about Horse Racing at William Hill

Introduction to Flat Racing

The basics of Flat Racing, key participants and the major events of the season are all included in this section.

What is Flat Racing?

Horse racing has two separate codes under the same umbrella: jumps and Flat. The latter involves no obstacles to navigate over and includes races ranging from five furlongs to just under three miles.

The Epsom Derby, the marquee race of the British Flat season, first took place in 1780, with racing in Great Britain dating back to the 17th century.

Horse racing is integral to the sporting community in the UK; 4.8 million people attended 1,488 individual race meetings across England, Scotland, and Wales in 2022, according to the UK Government. According to the BHA’s fixture list, we can expect 1,468 horse racing fixtures in the 2024 season.

Bet on Horse Racing with William Hill

The Basics of Flat Racing

The racecourse is the arena in which the horses, connections, and spectators are situated for the day of racing, whereas the track is the area in which the horses and jockeys race. A typical race meeting includes six to eight races.

Flat racing has races that range from five furlongs to two miles six furlongs, and they are raced on either turf, which has ‘going’ descriptions that vary from heavy to firm, or all-weather surfaces.

There are many different types of Flat races:

• Group (pattern) races are level-weight contests to determine the best horse, though some conditions include weight allowances for fillies/mares against colts/geldings or younger horses against their older counterparts.
• Handicap races allow horses of different abilities (and ratings) to compete competitively with each other via the allocation of weight; the higher the official rating, the more weight they will carry.
• Maiden contests are for horses who have yet to win a race.
• Juvenile Flat races are for two-year-olds only.
• A Novice Flat race is for horses which have not won more than two Flat races and have not won a Flat race that is classified as a Class 1 or better contest.

Check out all the latest Horse Racing odds at William Hill

Flat Racing Terminology

Horse racing has plenty of terms that may be unfamiliar to some viewers, so here are a few Flat racing-specific ones.

Break – Used to describe horses exiting the stalls to begin the race; if a horse ‘missed the break’ they have had a poor start.

Classic races – Classic races are a group of historic major contests for three-year-olds. There are five ‘Classic’ races in the Flat racing calendar – the 2000 Guineas, the 1000 Guineas, the Oaks, the Derby, and the St Leger.

Foal – A horse from birth, usually in the earlier parts of the year, to January 1st of the following year. After that, they become a yearling for a full year.

Furlong – 220 yards or 201 metres.

Gates – This is the front section of the starting stalls which open to commence a Flat race.

Group races ­– They are the upper band of races that are split into Group 3, Group 2, and Group 1 contests – all of the Classic races are Group 1s.

Green – Horses that are described as green are often inexperienced and quite keen.

Handicap – A race where horses of varying ratings are allocated weight according to their ability in order to equalise every horses’ chance of winning.

Headquarters or HQ – People will refer to Newmarket as the HQ of Flat racing.

Off the pace – When a horse is ridden some distance behind the leaders in a race.

Sprint races – Contests that occur over five and six furlongs.

Stakes race – A race where some, or all, of the prize money, was contributed by owners of the horses involved.

Staying races – Contests that occur over two miles or above.

Key Participants in Flat Racing

The jockey is the person that rides the horse sporting the coloured silks of a specific owner, owners or syndicate, if the horse is owned by a large group of people.

The trainer is employed by the owners to get the best out of the horses. They run the stables, manage staff, look after the horses’ training and welfare, and prepare them for races.

The owner pays the bills for the horse. The horse is theirs, but they have to pay training fees to the trainer, fees to enter their horse for a race and cover vet bills throughout the season.

The breeder begins the process of the racehorse by choosing which sire and dam to pair up together to mate. When the foal is born, the breeder will look after them and usually look to sell them after one or two years unless they want to continue owning the horse and race them in their colours.

Understanding the Flat Racing Calendar

The Flat racing calendar on the turf runs from the end of March to the end of October with the major meetings including the York Dante Festival, Epsom Derby Weekend, Royal Ascot, the Newmarket July Festival, the York Ebor Meeting, Glorious Goodwood, and the St Leger Festival.

There are three races that form the British Triple Crown of Classics: the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Epsom Derby, and the St Leger at Doncaster. These are the most prestigious races for breeding purposes, though the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ebor, and Cesarewitch are also high-value contests.

Bet on Horse Racing with William Hill

Notable Flat Races

We have mentioned a few of the notable Flat races that occur during one season, but this section will delve into more specific detail.

Epsom Derby

The Derby was first run in 1780 and is located at the undulating course of Epsom in Surrey, United Kingdom.

The contest is Britain’s richest Flat race and is the most prestigious of the five Classics. Run over one mile and four furlongs, horses climb 41 meters in the first five furlongs, 31 meters more than the infamous ‘Cheltenham hill’ finish. After that, they swing into the home straight around Tattenham Corner before a three-and-a-half furlong run to the line.

The legendary Diomed won the first renewal of the Derby with Aidan O’Brien’s Auguste Rodin becoming the most recent victor in 2023; in between them, the likes of Galileo, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Shergar, Sea The Stars, and Golden Horn have all succeeded on the biggest stage at Epsom.

Royal Ascot

Five days. 35 races. One Royal Ascot. The premier Flat racing event of the season is a week steeped in tradition, none more so than with the Royal family who take part in the Royal procession each day before racing.

The Royal meeting holds great importance to the future careers of the sport’s equine athletes as a win at the Berkshire-based track can see their future value soar.

There are eight Group 1s throughout the week, but the feature event is the Ascot Gold Cup, that has made legends of the game like Yeats, Stradivarius, and Sagaro in previous editions. This year John and Thady Gosden’s Courage Mon Ami triumphed over favourite Coltrane, steered on by the one and only Frankie Dettori.

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is the final big race of the year which takes place on the first Sunday in October. Run over one mile and four furlongs, the world’s best talent at that distance clash at Paris Longchamp to write their name into the history books with usual interest sprouting from Japan, the UK, France, the USA, and Germany.

This year, we saw Ace Impact take centre stage, with the unbeaten French-trained runner taking home the £2,528,318.58 prize. Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget and jockey Cristian Demuro both tasted Arc success for the second time as a pair following their victory three years ago with Sottsass.

Find all the latest Horse Racing news and odds at William Hill