About The Home of Racing

Newmarket has a rich history, with the town as we know it today dating back to 1200.  Its royal history in the 17th century saw it play an integral role of the lives of James I, who built the first grandstand on Newmarket Heath, Charles I, who was in residence here when the English Civil War became an inevitability, and in particular Charles II, whose royal palace, Palace House, can still be found in the town today. 

Charles II

It was Charles II who did more than any other monarch to advance the sport of horseracing in this country - he instituted by Act of Parliament in 1665 the first race to be run in Britain under written rules and exported the name of Newmarket and the sport of horseracing to America that same year - and his love affair with Newmarket (not to mention with his mistress in the town, Nell Gwyn!) is well chronicled.

We plan to build up a historical archive on our website, with many of the articles provided by local historian Sandra Easom. These will be added to the menu during the course of the year. You will find a Newmarket Timeline on the menu now and Sandra Easom's initial articles, which we are sure you will find of great interest.  Do come back to this section periodically to see what has been added.