It’s surely clear to most visitors of the site that there is something of a UK bias around these parts. Can you blame us really, when there is such a wealth of history to British racing and so very many legends to highlight and reel off? Not wanting others to feel left out though, let’s today concentrate on a racecourse in each one or two other great horse racing nations, namely the United States and Australia.
Stateside, there is an awful lot of competition for best racecourse. Courses like Santa Anita Park on the West Coast and Saratoga in New York are crowd favourites, but for me there is no surpassing Churchill Downs. Set in Lexington, Kentucky, USA and home to the Kentucky Derby the racecourse is second to none and a real thrill to see in person. Opened in 1875 (quite something for such a comparatively young country) and with a turf track within a dirt track, Churchill Downs is synonymous with top class racing and draws in the best of the best in terms of racing talent. The real cherry on the cake though is that it hosts the aforementioned Kentucky Derby (the first race of the US Triple Crown). While some gamblers head to the states for Vegas (basically an offline version of the best US online casino) for lovers of horse racing who can blame them for heading straight to Kentucky!
Not to be outdone, Australia too is home to great weather and amazing racecourses. Outside of the top au online casinos and offline equivalents, those interested in a flutter look to horse racing, and head to the course. One of the racecourses in the country that any race fan worth their salt knows about is Flemington. Home to the world renowned Melbourne Cup day and situated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia this racecourse opened way back in 1840 and the track has seen many a history making race play out over the decades. As well as November’s Melbourne Cup (one of the biggest money flat races in the worldwide racing calendar), the course also hosts Black Caviar Lightning and the LKS Mackinnon Stakes. The track almost routinely features group one action and so it’s no wonder it’s held in such high regard.
So it just goes to show that when it comes to horse racing; history and prestige are worldwide attributes, not just specific to the UK.