Newmarket
Magnificently situated amongst downs and heaths Newmarket is an attractive market town situated on the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire border and famous throughout the world as the home of Horseracing. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain. Home to the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country and also most major British horseracing institutions.
Newmarket is nearly an exclave. Only a narrow strip of land links it to the rest of Suffolk. Newmarket was split by St Mary in Suffolk and All Saints in Cambridge. The town falls under the parliamentary constituency of West Suffolk. Newmarket has three sister cities, Lexington, Kentucky, US. Maisons Laffitte, France and Le Mesnil-le-Roi, France.
Royal Connection to horse racing
The town made it’s earliest Royal connection since King James I, Charles I and Charles II who had dwellings there which increased the towns horse racing popularity. Moreover in 1634 saw the introduction of the first cap race. In 1605, King James I declared the town the second capital of England and built the Newmarket Palace on an acre of land spanning from the High street to All Saints churchyard.
Over time many Royals came to appreciate Newmarket for it’s flat land for galloping their horses and Charles II raced his own horse and won in The Town Plate. Newmarket became a royal resort and a horse racing town and is visited by most monarchs since and Queen Elizabeth II visits the town often to see her horses in training.
The Animal Health trust which was established over half a century ago has helped thousands of horses as well as cats and dogs and leads the way for research into animal health. It was founded in Kentford and has a library which is open to visitors.
Stables and training
There are around 3000 horses stabled in and around the area compared to 15,000 human population and one in three jobs are connected to horse racing.
Many of the worlds famous trainers are based in Newmarket and many of the horses that they train are worth as high as £50 million. There are three major public horse exercise grounds – WarrenHill, Racecourse Side, and the Limekilns.
There are two race courses situated in Newmarket Heath, The Rowley Mile, the home of two classic races, 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas and The July Course, home of the July Cup and Falmouth Stakes as well as a number of other important races. The two houses are separated by the Devils Dyke.
Newmarket is the Uk centre for the multi million pound horse breeding industry. There are tours available around Palace House the home of Britain’s National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art, the National Horseracing Museum, the Sporting Art Trust and the Retraining of Racehorses charity. To become a member of Palace House and for more information, visit the British Sporting Art Trust.
Culture and community
Newmarket has played a key role in sport for many centuries and has made it Britain’s finest in the development of painting on sporting themes. During the 18th century, Newmarket’s racecourses and three founders of sporting school were the main focus. Newmarket is also the setting for Sir Alfred Munning’s famous paintings.
The organisation Save Historic Newmarket is a group of local people set up to promote and maintain the town’s heritage. Visit their website to find out more about the facts and figures on the facilities and racing infrastructure.
Many wealthy Jockeys and owners of horse racing stables and studs live in Newmarket. Such as the engineer and women rights activist Rachel Parsons and entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir David Robinson. It is also the birthplace of some famous people including codebreaker and mathematician William Thomas Tutte and Commonwealth gold medalist, cyclist Ross Edgar.
Places to visit
Racing’s Administrative body The Jockey Club was created in Newmarket but around tradition, but embraces innovation and with it today there are over 2,000 horse being trained there at any one time. There are private tours around the Jockey Club’s rooms that operate outside of the racing calendar.
Discover Newmarket: the town official tour guide with expert guides delivering tours for groups and individuals. Tours include the Palace House, The National Heritage Centre Fro Horseracing and Sporting Art. National stud tour,Champion trainer tour, Dalham hall stud tour and much more…
In Newmarket town centre you will find an interesting collection of retail experiences; from familiar brands, to various independent and unique family-run businesses dealing in everything from famous sausages to antiques.
The town has a grand clock tower on the High street, the King Edward memorial Gardens, The War memorial Gardens and Cleveland House. Centred around the high street itself.
Food and Drink
Newmarket is the home of the PGI Protected Newmarket Sausage. Established in the 1800s only their butchers in the town are entitled to produce theses sausages. the sausages are given as a prize at the Newmarket Town Plate which is held each year at the Newmarket Racecourse.
It calls itself the home of racing but Newmarket has so much more than the races. Whether you’re looking for a bite to eat after the races or you are visiting Newmarket for the day, the town can cater for all dining needs. From a good old fashioned pub to fine dining you will love the eateries that they have to offer.
The website lovenewmarket.co.uk is a directory that lists a choice of top quality places to eat and drink in Newmarket and offers all types of cuisine. The directory also lists various other attractions in the area.
How to get there
Located in the East of England, Newmarket is easily accessible by car from the A14. Trains run regularly from Cambridge and Ipswich and is an hour and half journey from London.
Train: Ipswich to Newmarket 58 minutes
Bus: Tower Ramparts bus station to The Guineas Bus Station 1 hour 15 mins.
Bus Operator: Suffolk Norse ?01473 341 500 ✉️ enquiries@suffolknorse.co.uk
Drive: from Ipswich 40.9 miles and takes approximately 55 minutes
Newmarket… Just one of the many places to visit and have a great day at the races, when you stay at Stone Lodge Apartments in Ipswich