About The Home of Racing

Around the Parade Ring on the NatWest Rowley Mile and on the balconies at the rear of the Millennium Stand overlooking the Parade Ring, you will find a number of boards with interesting facts about different aspects of Newmarket - great horses that have won here, major races, legendary jockeys, horse nutrition and many more.   You will find the text from a selection of them below - we bet you'll find out something from reading them that you didn't know before!

Brigadier Gerard

• 1968 -1989 by Queen’s Hussar out of La Paiva
• Owner and Breeder: John and Jean Hislop Trainer: Major Dick Hern Jockey: Joe Mercer
• A statue stands at The NatWest Rowley Mile to commemorates the mighty Brigadier Gerard, widely acknowledged as the horse of the 20th century.
• Though modestly bred, “The Brigadier” won 17 of his 18 races, including four at Newmarket: Middle Park Stakes (1970), 2000 Guineas (1971), Champion Stakes (1971 & 1972).
• When he defeated Mill Reef and My Swallow in the 2000 Guineas, it was proclaimed that never before in the history of flat racing had three such champion class two-year-olds from the previous season taken each other on in a Classic.
• He won over distances from 5 furlongs to 12 furlongs, recording 15 straight victories before tasting his only defeat at the hands of Roberto at York in 1972.
• He rounded off his career with a second Champion Stakes victory here on the Rowley Mile, before retiring to stud with an almost perfect racing record.
• Though not a big success as a stallion, he did sire Light Cavalry, the 1980 St Leger winner, and Vayraan, who won the Champion Stakes in 1981.

The 2000 Guineas

The 2000 Guineas, run here over the straight Rowley Mile, is the first of the five historic Classic races to be run in Britain each season.

• The first running took place in 1809 for the prize of 2000 guineas.
• Three-year-olds of both sexes may enter, but not geldings. Fillies very rarely run these days, though seven have won it in the distant past, the most recent being Garden Path in 1944.
• The first race was won by Wizard, owned by Christopher Wilson, trained by Tom Perren and ridden by Bill Clift. The same connections won the first running of the 1000 Guineas with Charlotte in 1814.
• Perhaps the finest race in recent times was in 1971 when Brigadier Gerard beat Mill Reef into second place.
• The 2000 Guineas is the first leg of the traditional Triple Crown - the supreme test for the thoroughbred colt - which includes the Derby at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Nijinsky in 1970.
• A total of 34 horses have completed the 2000 Guineas-Derby double, the most recent being Nashwan in 1989.
• The Picture below shows the 2006 winner George Washiington, ridden by Kieron Fallon and trained by Aiden O'Fallon.

The 1000 Guineas

• The 1000 Guineas, run here over the straight Rowley Mile, is the second of the five historic Classic races to be run in Britain each season.
• Only three-year-old fillies may enter.
• The first running took place in 1814 for the prize of 1000 guineas.
• In 2001, prize money for the 1000 Guineas was for the first time made equal to that on offer for the 2000 Guineas.
• The first race was won by Charlotte, owned by Christopher Wilson, trained by Tom Perren and ridden by Bill Clift. The same connections won the first running of the 2000 Guineas with Wizard in 1809.
• The race used to be run two days after the 2000 Guineas resulting in four fillies, Crucifix (1840), Formosa (1868), Pilgrimage (1878) and Sceptre (1902), winning both races in the same year.
• The last horse to win the fillies’ Triple Crown, made up of the 1000 Guineas, Oaks and St Leger, was Oh So Sharp in 1985.
• A total of 45 fillies have completed the 1000 Guineas-Oaks double, the most recent being Salsabil in 1990.
• The picture below shows the 2006 Stan James 1000 Guineas winner, Speciosa ridden by Michael Fenton and trained by Pam Sly

All Heart

• The size of a horse’s heart, which grows until the animal is four years old, is believed to have a direct relation to its ability to run fast.
• Whilst a large heart will not guarantee victory on the track, studies have shown that it represents approximately 25 per cent of what makes a champion.
• A big heart won’t compensate for a poor attitude or bad conformation, but if everything else is on order, a large heart can mean a great racehorse.
• Certain abnormalities of the equine heart are common and it has been suggested that 50% of all horses have a heart which makes some odd noise or beats rather unevenly, but most of these horses seem to perform quite well.
• Today the average weight of a racehorse’s heart is 9lbs (4kgs) and, as the horse gets fitter, the heart size may increase up to 12lbs (5.5kgs)
• In the mid 18th century the average weight was 6lbs (2.72kgs), yet the heart of the legendary Eclipse (foaled 1764), whose skeleton you will find in the National Horseracing Museum in the town, weighted a remarkable 14lbs (6.35kgs), the same weight as Australia’s great 20th century racehorse, Phar Lap.
• The heart of the sensational 1973 American triple crown winner, Secretariat, was estimated to have weighed a staggering 22lbs (10kgs). No wonder he left his rivals trailing in his wake time after time in the States!

Lester Piggott

• With 30 English Classic victories to his name, including 7 Guineas victories here at Newmarket and a record 9 Epsom Derbys, Lester Piggott was the jockey of his generation and one of the greatest of all time.
•  Born on 5 November 1935, he rode his first winner, The Chase, at Haydock in 1948 aged just 12 years. By the time he finally retired in 1995, he had registered 4,493 victories in Britain, as well as more than 800 abroad in 27 different countries.
• He was crowned Champion Jockey in Britain 11 times.
• He rates Nijinsky, the 1970 Triple Crown winner, as the best horse he ever rode.
• He won the July Cup on the July Course a record 10 times.
• He rode his final Classic winner at the age of 56 when landing the 2000 Guineas of 1992 on Rodrigo De Triano.
• Popularly known as ‘The Long Fellow’, Lester was unusually tall for a flat jockey and, in his battle to keep his weight down, was reputed to have existed on half a glass of champagne, small coffees and a large cigar each day.
• Britain’s annual jockeys’ awards are known as ‘The Lesters’ in his honour.
• His home is still in Newmarket, less than a mile from the NatWest Rowley Mile

Fred Archer

• Fred Archer was one of the greatest and most tragic jockeys of all time. Born in Cheltenham on 11 January 1857, he was apprenticed to Newmarket trainer Matthew Dawson on the day before his 10th birthday.
• He rode his first winner, Athol Daisy, in September 1870 on his very first ride.
• He won 21 English Classics, including 6 Guineas here at Newmarket and 5 Epsom Derbys.
• In all he rode 2,748 winners in Britain from 8,084 rides, a sensational strike rate of 34%. He headed the list of winning jockeys every season from 1873 to 1886.
• He struggled desperately with his weight as he got older and used to take a concoction known as ‘Archer’s Mixture’, basically a crude and potent laxative.
• The physical and mental strain of his punishing regime, along with the sadness caused by the tragic death of his wife in childbirth in 1884 just a year after they were married, resulted in Archer becoming very ill. A few days later on 8th November 1886, in an apparent state of delirium whilst suffering from a fever, he shot himself. He was just 29 years old.
• Archer’s stables on the Snailwell Road, where he died, are now home to James Fanshawe’s string. Over the years there have been many reported sightings there of Archer, riding on a ghostly white horse!

Newmarket's Racing Surface

• Newmarket’s two racecourses lie on an area of chalk grassland known as Newmarket Heath which is officially protected as a “Site of Special Scientific Interest.”
• The soil type is very consistent, comprising 200-300mm deep of silt loam or silty clay loam, overlying chalk brash usually 300-400mm below the surface.
• The soils are extremely well structured throughout, with dense, deep rooting to at least 200mm. This excellent structure is due in part to the benefits associated with extensive earthworm activity found all over the racecourses.
• The sward of the Rowley Mile Course consists primarily of perennial ryegrass with elements of cocksfoot, bentgrass and crested hairgrass.
• Although the sward on the July Course also consists primarily of perennial ryegrass, it is very different to that on the Rowley Mile. This is due in great part to the fact that it has for many years been extensively irrigated in the summer to accommodate racing in June, July and August.
• On the Beacon Course (the track from the 1m 2f start to the 2m 2f start and beyond), the sward is very different again. There are much larger areas of fine leaved fescue and bentgrass, in keeping with typical heathland characteristics.
• Given the free draining nature of the underlying chalky brash, there is no requirement for drainage.

The Emirates Airline Champion Stakes

• The Emirates Airline Champion Stakes is the spectacular highlight of Champions’ Day, the highest class raceday in Britain with no less than six Group Races, which takes place on the Rowley Mile in October.
• Run over 11/4 miles, the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes was inaugurated in 1877. It is Newmarket’s most valuable race of the year and is the last Group 1 contest of the British season for three-year-olds and up.
• The Maktoum Family, rulers of Dubai, have generously sponsored the race since 1982, with that country’s airline putting its name to it for the first time in 2002.
• One of the early winners of the race was the incomparable Ormonde (1886), who won the Triple Crown that year, retired unbeaten and is considered by many to have been the greatest racehorse of all time.
• Two outstanding fillies, Sceptre (1903) and Pretty Polly (1905), were triumphant early in the last century.
• Lester Piggott has ridden more Champion Stakes winners than any other jockey in the post-war period. His five victories included Petite Etoile (1959), Sir Ivor (1968) and Rodrigo De Triano (1992).
• The mighty Brigadier Gerard won the race two years running in 1971 and 1972.
• Several recent winners have gone on to make a big impact overseas in the weeks following their Champion Stakes victory. Pilsudski (1997) won the Japan Cup,
• Kalanisi (2000) won the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the USA and Rakti (2003) was runner-up in the Hong Kong Cup.

Where it all began

• Following his marriage in 1200 to Cassandra, daughter of the Lord of the Manor of Exning, Sir Richard de Argentein started a ‘new market’ on the land he received in his dowry. So the town of Newmarket entered written history.
• In 1605, James I took part in hare coursing near the village of Fordham. Recognising Newmarket Heath as “prime sporting country”, he purchased what is now the Rutland Arms in Newmarket High Street and built the first royal palace in the town.
• It is said that James I’s courtiers raced a breed of Spanish horses on the Heath, descendants of the defeated Armada washed up on the shores of Galloway.
• Charles I, who reigned from 1625 to 1649, had the first grandstand built on the Heath.
• Racing at Newmarket took off during the reign of Charles II after he was restored to the throne in 1660. He had a passion for the sport, built Palace House near the Rutland Arms and moved the royal court to Newmarket every year.
• Charles established the Town Plate, the first horserace ever run in Britain under written rules. It still takes place on the July Course every October.
• Charles’s favourite hack was called Old Rowley, a nickname that was also given to the king himself. Hence the Rowley Mile Racecourse got its name.

Racehorse Nutrition

• With races often won and lost by the tiniest of margins, equine nutrition has come under the microscope in recent years as the experts try to find that ‘extra edge’ which might just make the difference between victory and defeat.
• A traditional diet for a racehorse consisted primarily of hay and oats, but horses in training have such high energy requirements that nutritionists are constantly seeking more effective ways to supply that extra energy.
• If any horse is fed a diet too high in cereals, a carbohydrate overload can occur and this can lead to life threatening conditions such as colic and laminitis.
• Racehorses today are therefore fed a diet which is higher in fat content, providing a ‘safer’ energy source than high levels of cereals. This can also help to reduce the occurrence of ‘tying-up’, where lactic acid build-up in the muscle tissue after heavy exercise can cause a horse literally to ‘set fast’.
• Highly digestible fibres are the mainstay of a racehorse’s diet and each horse should be fed a minimum of 1.5% of its bodyweight per day of fibre. It is the essential ingredient for digestive health. Sadly it is a fact that the majority of racehorses in training today suffer from gastric ulceration due to a lack of good levels of fibre in their diet. A high fat / high fibre diet can prevent this.
• Additional vitamins and minerals are also provided in a modern racehorse diet, although the majority of these can be naturally synthesised by the horse when fed a diet with a high fibre content, while being out in the sunshine not only gives the horse a more natural lifestyle, but also tops up its Vitamin D at the same time!

• A modern racehorse eats a great deal more than grass as scientists seek the key to optimum nutrition

National Horseracing Museum

• The Museum opened in 1983 in the former Jockey Club Subscriptions Rooms in the heart of Newmarket. It is a registered charity, governed by a Board of Trustees and receives no government subsidy, relying on the generous support of sponsors and benefactors.
• With an internationally important collection, the Museum cares for thousands of objects relating to racing throughout the UK, ranging from priceless fine art to race badges and horseshoes.  Visitors can find out about the history of the Classic races, learn about the life of Fred Archer and see objects associated with their racing heroes such as Frankie Dettori, Red Rum, Lester Piggott and Best Mate.
• Each year we create new exhibitions on subjects related to racing and horses.  Recent memorable exhibitions include Mrs Shilling’s Ascot hats, and a celebration of the work of Norman Thelwell and his famous naughty Shetlands.
• The Museum has created major exhibitions which have toured the world, and brought together on display some of the finest artefacts related to racing. 
• The Museum also encourages young jockeys and riders of the future by giving visitors a hands-on glimpse of life behind-the-scenes in racing.  The Practical Gallery is staffed by retired trainers, jockeys and stable lads, who will help visitors learn how to feed a racehorse and tack up ready for racing.  Visitors can put on silks, ‘weigh out’ and learn how fit jockeys have to be to win races by riding the mechanical racehorse simulator.
•  It is possible to access some of the Museum collections over the Internet at www.nhrm.co.uk.  Horseracing History Online enables members of the public to search for information about people, races and horses featured in the collections.  We answer hundreds of enquiries each year ranging from family history requests to detailed academic research.
• The Museum offers an active education programme for school visits and family event days throughout the year.
• The Museum Shop is famous for its wide and unusual range of gifts, souvenirs books and cards, and the Coffee Shop is a favourite spot for lunch with locals.

Captain Robert Barclay Allardice (1779 – 1854) “The Celebrated Pedestrian”

• “1,000 miles in 1,000 hours for 1,000 Guineas” 
• Captain Barclay wagered with a man called James Wedderburn Webster that he could walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours, covering exactly one mile in each and every hour of every day and night. 
• The event, held on Newmarket Heath between 1^st June and 12th July 1809, attracted huge crowds and vast amounts of money as it was estimated that over £100,000, probably worth £40 million today, was gambled on the event.
• Captain Barclay was a remarkable athlete renowned for his outstanding powers of endurance and indestructible physique. Barclay was one of the strongest men of his time and was able to lift an18 stone man from the floor to a table with just one hand.  However, it was his extraordinary walking feats that earned him his greatest renown and the title of the 'Celebrated Pedestrian'.
• His remarkable achievement in successfully winning his wager made him one of the most famous athletes in England at this time and also one of the wealthiest. The original wager was only for 1,000 guineas, but due to numerous side bets his winnings actually rose to over 16,000 guineas, over £6m in today’s terms.
• His diet while walking consisted of 5 to 6 pounds of animal protein per day and he kept well hydrated with numerous glasses of wine, ale, porter and cups of tea. Whilst walking, Barclay felt the need to take certain security measures to guarantee his safety especially at night. He carried a pair of pistols in his belt and employed prize fighter ‘Big’ John Gully to accompany him.
• Barclay’s average time per mile varied from 14 minutes 54 seconds in the first week to 21 minutes 4 seconds in the last week. He stopped only to have little rest breaks within each hour. Deep sleep was impossible and therefore Barclay would have suffered chronic sleep depravation.  The effort came close to breaking him physically.

Ormonde

• 1883 - 1904 by Bend Or out of Lily Agnes
• Owner and Breeder: The Duke of Westminster   Trainer: John Porter   Jockeys: Fred Archer, George Barrett & Tom Cannon
• Ormonde is considered as one of the finest racehorses, perhaps the finest, of all time. He retired unbeaten after winning all 16 of his racecourse starts, most of them by a distance and often giving away weight.  He and his regular partner, Fred Archer, will both be remembered as two of the greatest names in the sport of horseracing’s long and illustrious history.
• Ormonde was carried by his dam, Lily Agnes, for 12 months and when he was eventually born he was described as an “extraordinary looking creature”. There were doubts whether he would grow up properly, let alone race.
• Ormonde was a late developing two-year-old in 1885, but his undoubted talent was plain for all to see when he ran away with the Dewhurst Stakes, which today is still this country’s premier race for two-year-olds, here on the Rowley Mile, Course of Champions.
• He started his three-year-old season by returning here to win the 2000 Guineas, defeating the unbeaten Minting by two lengths, and went on to complete the Triple Crown with victories in the Derby and St Leger.
• Newmarket’s Champion Stakes over ten furlongs and July Cup over six furlongs were among the other highlights of his career, thus proving Ormonde’s fantastic versatility as a racehorse.
• After his retirement, Ormonde went to his owner’s Eaton Stud in Cheshire for two years, where amongst others he sired the highly successful Orme.  He was then sold to continue his stallion duties in Argentina and later in the USA.
• At the age of 21, Ormonde died due to increasing difficulty in breathing, something which had afflicted him in the latter stages of his racing career. He was originally buried in California, but later his bones were exhumed, returned to England and put on display at the Natural History Museum in London.