The World’s Most Prestigious Horse Racing Events

The sport of horse racing has been around for a long time, dating even further back than the Olympic Games in the period over 700 BCE, which is as far as history can trace it.

Below is a look at some of the world’s biggest horse events, starting off with some of the most prestigious events in the British horse racing calendar.

Royal Ascot (United Kingdom)

Royal Ascot is the biggest event on the UK calendar, with the gates of Ascot opening around 10 in the morning for visitors to soak up the atmosphere before the racing itself gets underway in the afternoon. Before all that, you’ll see the royal procession. Then it’s down to business as the horses and their jockeys compete for more than £8 million in prize money. The day closes with singing around the bandstand.

Grand National (United Kingdom)

The Grand National, which takes place at Aintree, is possibly the most famous horse race on the face of the Earth. Around 600 million people across the world tune in to follow the race (and possibly to see if their horse wins) and even people who don’t regularly bet on horses’ race will put money on the race.

This classic has sometimes been the scene of racing history. The famous Red Rum has sealed its place in the sport’s history books, by being the only horse to win the race three times. Other times, it has been the setting for big surprises, with major outsides taking first place, including Mon Mome in 2009 at 100/1.

The Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is Britain’s home of jump racing. Without doubt, the race jockeys all want to win is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which puts £625,000 up for grabs. The Ryanair Steeplechase, the Champion Hurdle and the Stayer’s Hurdle are other races not to miss if you tune in to this festival.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place over three miles and approximately two-and-a-half furlongs. The organisers have been pleased to announce that the race is being reunited with its original Gold Cup trophy, which dates back to 1924, and the jockeys will receive a replica of this. Horse racing betting is notoriously popular with fans in this festival, they may not have been able to place bets in person this year, however there was still multi-millions bet online.

Kentucky Derby (USA)

The Kentucky Derby is the jewel in the Kentucky Derby Festival crown and is a relatively short race, run over one and one-quarter miles. This flat race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses is often referred to as the “Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,” due to the average time of two minutes it takes horses to complete the race.

Up to 20 horses can race in the Kentucky Derby, which makes the field size much larger than most horse races in the US. Horses can’t just enter the race, however; they first have to travel the “Road to Kentucky,” a series of 35 horse races, and earn enough points to secure them a spot at the starting gate and compete for the $2 million prize money.

Belmont Stakes (USA)

The Belmont Stakes is a race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds and is the oldest of the Triple Crown events… the other two being The Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby. Not only that, but it is also one of the oldest stake’s races in North America. In 1867, it was run for the first time, and in 1921, it was run counter-clockwise for the first time.

The purse for the Belmont Stakes has varied in the last few years, with around $1 to 1.5 million in winnings available. Tradition at the race also sees a 40-pound blanket of carnations draped over the winning horse. Roughly 700 carnations go into the making of this blanket.

Dubai World Cup (UAE)

The Meydan racecourse plays host to the Dubai World Cup meeting, which runs concurrently to the Dubai World Cup Carnival. 2021’s event showcased nine different races. The event is considered possibly the greatest event in the Arab sporting calendar and puts up $30 million in potential winnings, with a win in the feature race netting the first-place finisher $12 million.

Whereas the hooves of the horses may be slightly more pampered on grass courses, the Dubai World Cup race is contested on a dirt track, to which not all horses will be suited. This can create drama in the race.

One horse that has found its feet on the track has been Thunder Snow. The horse has won the event twice now, and is the only horse to have done so, in 2018 and 2019. It has achieved this with the sheikh’s horse-breeding and racing team, Godolphin.

Horse racing is immensely popular, with people from all over the world following events and placing money on them. The world’s racecourses have been the setting for some unbelievable race drama and some historic moments, all of which get race fans looking forward to what the next season has in store for them. Whether they bet on the events or otherwise, they can be sure things will never get dull.