The horse’s breeding – father (sire and mother (dam)

NEWMARKET HEATH: A HISTORY

Newmarket and horses have been connected since Queen Boadicea founded a Royal stud at Exning. More than 1,000 years later, Sir Richard d’Argentine developed a “New Market” in this location.

17th Century

Newmarket became a

favourite destination of King James I, who moved the Royal court there for a time and raced horses on the Heath.

His grandson, Charles II, built the first recorded stand.

19th Century

Lord George Bentinck, owner of a large expanse of heathland and a Jockey Club member, turned acres of scrubland over to grass, purchased adjacent land and established the gallops which still exist today.

World Wars I and II

The Rowley Mile stands and heath were occupied by the military. The heath was converted into an

airfield for training officers and no flying was permitted on the racedays. Newmarket Heath surveyed by I.Champan in 1787 shows the state of the racecourses close to the time

of the Jockey Club’s founding.Exning and Newmarket were notably quite established.

1980s

The airfield was

decommissioned

1886 Map shows Hamilton Road and the area north of the heath including Southfield Farm and Seven Springs are relatively similar today. World War II brought formal airfield facilities which occupied the heath for just under 40

years.

Today

Today the heath forms the primary training grounds to the largest cluster of racehorses on the planet – between two and three thousand in number at any one time. It’s combination of training facilities and their interaction with the town, coupled with its unique heritage, are a vital contributor to Newmarket’s position as the preeminent racing and breeding centre for thoroughbreds and spiritual home of horseracing globally.