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Cheltenham

Occupying 350 acres in Prestbury Park, a natural amphitheatre at the foot of Cleeve Hill in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, Cheltenham Racecourse is considered the home of National Hunt racing. Indeed, its name has become synonymous with the Cheltenham Festival, the most popular National Hunt meeting in the world, which is staged annually ovetr four days in March.

Ascot

Situated in 179 acres of beautiful wooded countryside adjacent to Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, South East England, Ascot Racecourse is synonymous with Royal Ascot in mid-June and, more recently, with British Champions Day in mid-October. The former is a five-day festival, featuring a total of 35 races, including eight Group 1 contests, and prize money of £10 million, making it the most valuablerace meeting in Britain. The latter, which features seven races, worth £4.35 million in prize money, is similarly the most valuable raceday in Britain.

Longchamp

Longchamp Racecourse, situated in the Bois de Boulogne, on the western edge of Paris, France, in a loop of the River Seine, enjoys an idyllic location. A vast facility, occupying over 140 acres, Longchamp is home to 17 of the 28 Group 1 races staged during the French Flat season, the highlight of which is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run over a mile and a half, usually on the first Sunday in October. Inaugurated in 1920, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is, nowadays, worth £5 million in prize money, making it the most value race run in Europe.

Churchill Downs

Famous for its iconic Twin Spires, not to mention being the home of the ‘Race for the Roses’, the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs occupies 175 acres on Central Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. Aside from the first leg of the American Triple Crown, which is run over a mile and a quarter on dirt, Churchill Downs also plays host to the ‘Lilies for the Fillies’, the Kentucky Oaks, and has been the venue for the Breeders’ Cup World Championship on eight occasions.

Horse racing is a global industry and many famous horse races are staged in leading racing jurisdictions worldwide, including the United Kingdom, United States and Australia, to name but three.

Domestically, the five ‘Classics’ – that is, five long-established Group 1 races – are considered the ultimate test of the three-year-old generation. Indeed, three of them, namely the 2,000 Guineas, run at Newmarket in May, the Derby, run at Epsom in June and the St. Leger, run at Doncaster in September, constitute the British Triple Crown, which was last won by the legendary Nijinsky back in 1970.

On the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States, the early-season racing narrative is also propelled by the pursuit of the American Triple Crown. The three constituent races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, take place in the space of four or five weeks in May and June, but have nonetheless defined the careers of celebrated names such as War Admiral, Secretariat, Affirmed and, most recently, Justfied.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the Melbourne Cup, run at Flemington Racecoursein Melbourne, Australia in November is, with good reason, nicknamed ‘the race that stops a nation’. The most important race of the year in Australia and, nowadays, worth A$10 million in total prize money, the Melbourne Cup is a truly international event, attracting entries from around the world.

Similar comments apply to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, run at Longchamp, Paris in October and, boasting £5 million in guaranteed prize money, the most valuable race run in Europe. At the time of writing, of the last 10 renewals, five have been won by horses trained in Britain, three by horses trained in France and one apiece by horses trained in Ireland and Germany.

On the whole, the British weather is unsettled and precipitation, in particular, can have a significant impact on the performance of some horses and the way in which some racecourses ride. The clerk of the course at each racecourse is required to provide a going description, which is determined by measuring the amount of moisture in the ground and, on turf, can range from ‘firm’ to ‘heavy’.

Some horses are capable of producing their best from on various types of going, whereas others have a distinct preference for one type or another. Thus, an accurate description of the prevailing underfoot conditions is vital information for the connections of a horse – that is, its owner and trainer – when it comes to deciding where and when it should run, and for punters when it does run. Indeed, unsuitable going is often cited by jockeys and trainers as a plausible explanation if a horse runs below expectations, while the reverse is also true.

Each British racecourse is unique, in terms of its shape and topography, but none of them is completely flat and, naturally enough, moisture drains from the highest part of the course to the lowest. Particularly on the Flat, where starting stalls are used, some racecourses have a pronounced draw bias at different distances. Significant precipitation can exacerbate any such bias or, in some cases, even reverse it.

On soft or heavy going, horses drawn on the wide outside may hold an advantage by virtue of racing on fresher, less churned up ground than those drawn on the inner. At numerous racecourses, including Ascot, Beverley, Brighton, Carlisle, Catterick, Epsom and Pontefract, it is not unusual to see jockeys making for the higher side of the track in search of faster ground.

“Just” is the operative word here. Racecourse punters have an advantage over their stay-at-home counterparts in as much as they can scrutinise each of the runners in a race, in terms of its physical and mental state, in the paddock immediately beforehand. However, it is often said that paddock inspection is an art, not a science, and is best employed in conjuction with in-depth analysis of the race on paper, rather than in isolation. Indeed, assessing the physical fitness and demeanour of horses at close quarters may often be more useful for eliminating them from your calculations, rather than finalising a selection.

Physically, look for a horse with well-developed muscles, particularly in its rump and hind legs. A hard-trained, fit horse will appear taught, with little excess body weight; its rib definition may be slightly visible, as may a deep indentation on the upper hind leg, known as a ‘poverty line’. The more recently a horse ran at, or close to, its best – which can be determined by looking at the formbook – the more confident you can be that it is fit and ready to do itself justice. Look, too, for a horse that walks calmly, but confidently, with a smooth, steady stride. A glossy coat and bright, but soft, eyes are other positive signs of good health.

Behaviourally, a horse that handles the preliminaries in a cool, calm and collected manner is less likely to waste vital energy – and therefore less likely to underperform in the race itself – than one that is fractious and on edge. Typical responses to physical or psychological stress include sweating, flared nostrils, as a result of increased breathing effort, high head carriage and tail swishing. Stressed horses may also prove difficult to handle, bucking, rearing and refusing to cooperate when being mounted and ridden.