UK Horse Racing Tips

Which is the longest horse race in Britain depends, to some extent, on your terms of reference, with regard to (a) what constitutes a horse race in the first place and (b) under which ‘code’, if any, the race is run. Under the Rules of Racing or, in other words, under the auspices of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which regulates the sport, the longest horse race in Britain is, unequivocally, the Grand National at Aintree. Despite the advertised distance being reduced to 4 miles 2 furlongs and 74 yards from 2016 onwards, following a BHA survey of distances at all National Hunt racecourses, the Grand National retains its position as ‘the ultimate test of horse and rider’.

On the Flat, the picture is equally clear, at least as far as races run under the Rules of Racing are concerned. The single longest race, but not by far, is the Queen Alexandra Stakes, run over 2 miles 5 furlongs and 143 yards at Royal Ascot in June each year. The Queen Alexandra Stakes is longer, by a furlong and 153 yards, than the prestigious Gold Cup, run earlier during the Royal Meeting, but just five yards longer than the aptly-named Pontefract Marathon Handicap, run at the West Yorkshire course in April.

However, Britain is steeped in horse racing tradition, dating back to the reign of ‘Old Rowley’ himself, King Charles II, and beyond and there are several ‘ancient’ races, albeit run outside the Rules of Racing, which are longer than the Queen Alexandra Stakes. The Newmarket Town Plate, instigated by King Charles II, is run over 3 miles 6 furlongs on the so-called ‘Round Course’ at Newmarket Racecourse, which is used just once a year, in August. The race is contested by amateur riders, subject to certain eligibility criteria.

So, too, is the Kiplingcotes, or Kipling Cotes, Derby, which definitely dates from 1618 and, reputedly, from 1519, making it the oldest, as well as the longest, annual horse race in Britain. The race, which can be contested by horses of any age, is staged at Kiplingcotes, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the third Thursday in March over a course consisting of 4 miles of occasionally steep, often muddy, trackway and farmland. Bizarrely, the winning rider receives £50, but the runner-up receives the remainder of the entry fees.

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