Trusted Best Horse Racing Venues in the World Guide, Good Racecourse Advice

Five Best Horse Racing Venues in the World

22 Dec 2019

The sport of horse racing takes place all over the world, and amongst the racecourses that hold meetings are some fantastic pieces of architecture. These racecourses have been designed and built with big budgets, giving racegoers the ultimate package, a combination of a great sporting event and luxury surroundings. Here is a look at the five best horse racing venues in the world.

#5 Tokyo – Japan

Tokyo racecourse is a huge racecourse, with a capacity of 223,000 for any race meeting. With one of the largest big screens in the world, even with so many people flocking to the track, viewing of the races is still very good. The course was built in 1933, with major renovations taking place between 2000 and 2007 to bring the course to the level it is now.

Tokyo Racecourse Fuji stand, Japan:

photo courtesy of Goki (CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/))

#4 Flemington – Australia

The home of the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation. The Flemington racecourse was originally opened in 1840, with a big redevelopment plan being the reason it is as big and impressive as it is today. This came in 2000 and again in 2018, with architectural company Bates Smart designing and completing the most recent upgrades to the course, to ensure it is still suitable to host the biggest race in Australia.

The Club Stand for the Victoria Racing in Melbourne, Victoria:

photograph © Sean Fennessy

#3 Ascot – Berkshire, England

The home of Royal Ascot in the UK, a meeting attended by The Queen every year and a huge racecourse. The Ascot racecourse we see now is very different to the one that started life in 1711 and the biggest redevelopment took place between 2004 and 2006. Rod Sheard led the way with that redevelopment, the senior principal of HOK Sport Architecture, with the simple objective of making this the best racecourse in the world.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people descend on Ascot for their Royal meeting, a huge social event across five days.
This is a big week in the betting calendar in the UK, with horse racing betting sites taking on punters throughout the week. The sites listed at newbettingsites.uk are just some of the names that will be taking bets on the meeting next time around.

Royal Ascot grandstand and paddock, England, UK:

image courtesy of flickr

#2 Longchamp – Paris, France

The home of French racing has taken a step into the big time recently, with a huge redevelopment in 2018 to turn this into one of the greatest racecourses in the world. The course redevelopment was conducted by Dominique Perrault, a French designer, turning the tired looking track into a state-of-the-art facility. On the opening day after the development, 60,000 people attended the track, breaking the record for a race meeting in France.

picture © Dominique Perrault
Longchamp Paris racecourse

#1 Meydan – Dubai

It should come as no surprise to know that the best horse racing venue is in Dubai. This course is used for the UAE racing season, attracting runners from all over the world and offering millions in prize money. The course itself was built in 2010 and has a grandstand length of one mile, making this the longest man-made structure on the planet. There is a five star hotel as part of the complex, with a swimming pool that overlook the action so you can take a swim and watch the next horse race at the same time. The structure was designed by Malaysian based Teo A Khing design consultants.

Meydan Dubai racecourse, UAE – Jaguar Style Stakes:

photo courtesy of Jaguar MENA (CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0))

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Racecourse Buildings

Contemporary Racecourse Architecture – architectural selection below:

Concept design for Ireland’s most prestigious racecourse
Design: Grimshaw, architects with Newenham Mulligan & Associates

image courtesy of architects office
The Curragh Racecourse