Newmarket (Rowley Mile)
Date of Review: 22nd October 2025
RCA Reviewers: Dave & Peter
Address: Westfield House, The Links, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 0TG
Website: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/newmarket/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newmarketracecourses/
X: https://x.com/NewmarketRace
Email: newmarket.boxoffice@thejockeyclub.co.uk
Phone: 01638 675500
Accommodation: https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/newmarket/visitor-info/accommodation-where-to-stay/
Newmarket is the home of two racecourses: the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Although they are both part of the larger Newmarket Racecourses complex, they are distinct tracks used during different seasons and feature different characteristics. The Rowley Mile is used in the spring and autumn. It hosts the first two of the five British Classic Group 1 races: the QIPCO 2000 Guineas and the QIPCO 1000 Guineas in May. It also hosts major autumn events, including the Cesarewitch and the Cambridgeshire. The course is a wide, galloping track that features "The Dip," a challenging undulation in the final furlongs and a stiff uphill finish. Due to its traditional grandstand and layout, it has a more historic feel.
The July course, as its name suggests, hosts racing in the summer during June, July and August. It features top-class races such as the July Cup and the Falmouth Stakes during its signature July Festival. The course also features a challenging finish with a decline before a final uphill furlong. It also includes a right-handed bend about halfway, with the final mile being a straight known as the “Bunbury Mile”,
Track Layout: (Images acknowledged & credited to Timeform & At The Races)
Course Information: The Rowley Mile racecourse (named after Old Rowley, who was the favourite racehorse and stallion of King Charles II) is a roughly shaped, reversed letter L. It is right-handed and approximately two and a half miles in length. The home straight is 1 mile and 2 furlongs, making it unique in the fact that it is the longest straight of any racecourse in Britain. Races greater than 10 furlongs begin on the straight known as the “Cesarewitch” course, before making a right-handed bend to join the long home straight. All races from five to ten furlongs are run on the straight, which features several undulations, and a pronounced downhill slope at the second-to-last furlong, followed by a steep uphill climb to the finishing post, which is commonly known as “The Dip”. The racecourse is unique in that it is the only one in the UK where horses pass through two counties, both Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, during a race.
The track suits galloping types of horses, as the course is wide, and they have plenty of room available for the horses to stretch their legs on the long run-in. Stamina is also necessary to tackle the uphill finish and see the race through to the end. Jockeys who commit and go early for home often end up getting collared close to the finishing line, particularly when running into a headwind, as there is no cover whatsoever for the horses that are leading the pack. It is generally considered to be a more than fair track, with little to no draw bias.
The Racecourse Advisor Guide to Newmarket Racecourse – Rowley Mile: Newmarket is located on the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire borders, 16 miles from the city of Cambridge, and 60 miles from London. It is generally accepted as being the headquarters of British horse racing. It also has the National Stud, the National Horseracing Museum and the largest number of training yards in the country.
Location Map – Newmarket Racecourse
Racing in Newmarket dates back to around 1636, the time of James I, with the racecourse itself founded in 1636. Around 1665, Charles II inaugurated the Newmarket Town Plate. In 1671, he became the first and only reigning monarch to ride a winner. The first recorded horse race was a match between horses owned by Lord Salisbury and the Marquess of Buckingham in 1622, with a prize of £100.
The Jockey Club was founded in 1750, organising the first Jockey Club Stakes, restricted to Jockey Club members. Over the next sixty years, the racing at Newmarket was boosted by several classic races, including the 2000 Guineas in 1809 and the 1000 Guineas in 1814. Between 1915 and 1918, the Derby and Oaks races were also run at Newmarket.
Both Newmarket racecourses have grass airstrips for use by light aircraft, and it was taking off from one of these in June 2000 that a Piper Seneca plane carrying jockeys Ray Cochrane and Frankie Dettori crashed, killing the pilot and injuring both jockeys. Cochrane received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in 2002 for saving Dettori's life. The airstrip on the Rowley Mile was used during the Second World War by the Royal Air Force as RAF Newmarket. The most important races were relocated to the July Course during this period, as it was the only racecourse in the UK that remained operational throughout World War II. Newmarket is one of the busiest racecourses in the UK, hosting 36 race meetings annually between April and November.
Course Access:
By Road: The A11 and A14 provide easy access from the major cities of East Anglia, as well as from the M11 and the A1 / M1, respectively. The postcode for your Sat Nav is CB8 0TF. The road access to the racecourse is excellent, well signposted from the A14 if travelling in from the North or West. If you are travelling from London, use the following directions: Merge onto the A11 at junction 9, signposted Newmarket and Norwich. After 10 miles branch left and merge onto the A1304, signposted Newmarket. After 5 miles, take the third exit at the roundabout. Travel along the Cambridge Road for 1 mile, then turn left, following the sign for Rowley Mile Conference Centre. Turn left again, and you will arrive on the Rowley Mile drive.
The approach road to the course is a delight and could be classed as a tree-lined dual carriageway that takes you to a vast grassed car park, only a minute's walk away from the Main entrance. Worth mentioning that this made exiting the course very easy as well, but you need to make sure that you are in the right-hand lanes if you want to get back onto the Cambridge road, as the left lanes are turn-left-only.
The entrance to the Grandstand and Paddock from the car park involves a little further walking, as it is located at the opposite end of the parade ring, to the right of the Main stand, as you look from the car park.
By Rail: Newmarket railway station is approximately 5 miles away from the racecourse on the Cambridge branch of the Ipswich to Ely line. A free shuttle bus runs to and from the racecourse on racedays. The service runs 2 hours before the first race and 45 minutes before the last race for the return journey.
By Air: The nearest airport to Newmarket Racecourse is Stansted Airport (STN), which is 34 miles away. Norwich Airport (NWI) is 53 miles away, London Heathrow (LHR) is 93 miles away, and Birmingham Airport (BHX) is 102 miles away. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are permitted to land at both the July Course and the Rowley Mile with prior permission. Rating: 9/10.
Parking: There is plenty of free car parking on the large, grassed areas outside the main entrance of the racecourse. It was well signed and efficiently marshalled. There is also dedicated blue badge parking in both the Premier and Public car parks. The Premier parking is on tarmac and slightly closer to the main entrance. If assistance is required, car parking attendants can radio for a golf buggy to transport you to your designated entry point. This service cannot accommodate wheelchairs. There are four electric charging points located in the Annual Badge Car Park, situated to the left of the Premier Enclosure at the Rowley Mile. This service is available free of charge during racedays. A taxi rank is located outside the Premier Entrance, at the front of the Annual Badge Holders car park. Rating: 10/10.
Pricing: On the day of our visit, it was a Wednesday afternoon “Two Year Old Day” with six of the seven races on the card being exclusively for horses in their first season of racing. The card consisted of four Class 4 races, two Class 3 races and one Class 2 race. Tickets at the gate were £25.00. However, if booked online in advance, tickets could have been purchased for £10.00 each or £9.00 each for groups of 6 or more. There was also a “Discover Newmarket Tour” ticket for £30.00, which took you behind the scenes and on a full tour of the racecourse. We opted for this option and will explain more about it later in the review. Children aged under 18 get in free if accompanied by an adult.
There was also a hospitality upgrade option of “The Jockey Club Raceday Roast Experience” in the Champions Gallery restaurant for £115.00, which got you admission to the Premier enclosure and restaurant, a two-course roast lunch, tea and coffee, a racecard and waiter service to your table. When we checked online, we also found a buy-one-get-one-half-price offer available for this.
In our opinion, the £10.00 tickets, if booked online in advance, are genuinely excellent VFM (Value For Money), and the half-price hospitality option was also well worth having. Rating: 10/10.
Racecard: The racecard cost £3.50, and it really wasn’t worth it. Why? It had 48 pages, of which 26 were full-page adverts, a very high percentage (54%) of the total content. The rest was just the usual list of runners and riders. There was nothing else of interest, except for a double-page map that could have been better laid out, as it was tiny relative to the legend and the large area of black blank print.
We did use the Newmarket App, which is very good and also provides a basic racecard, as well as showing the relevant interactive locations on the course. So, no real need to buy the racecard now if you have your phone with you.
Viewing: The overall viewing experience at the Newmarket Rowley Mile Racecourse is very good indeed. From the Millennium grandstand, a stepped area in front provides unobstructed viewing of the course. We did go all the way up to the 4th floor, and from there, the view is stunning. This is where the corporate boxes are, and they can also go to the rear of the stand. There is a balcony running the full length of the stand, where you can view the parade ring and the winner’s enclosure. Each floor level in the Millennium grandstand had a balcony with a view to the rear. There is also a glass-backed elevator that looks out onto the Parade ring and the Winners' enclosure on the back of the Millennium stand.
The Millennium Grandstand – Newmarket Racecourse
The Champions Gallery restaurant, on the 3rd floor, didn’t have any outdoor trackside access, as it had an imposing glass frontage with tables on tiered flooring to provide an elevated view for those not seated ‘ringside’. It wasn’t just the viewing from the Millennium grandstand that was excellent; the Grandstand and Paddock had an excellent vantage point as well. The ground's natural slope away from the track creates a natural elevated position. Even in the stand farthest away from the finish, you could see the 1 mile 2 furlong start and an uninterrupted view all the way to the finish. If there were a bad view to be had, then it would be from the Royal Box. It certainly surprised us as well.
The Royal Box (under canopy) – Newmarket Racecourse
The Royal Box is located on level 1, so not that high up, but it also has a cantilever canopy, which gives a slightly oppressive, claustrophobic feel, especially after the open views we had seen from higher up in the stand. What you can say, though, is that it is ‘bang on’ the finish line (Prince Andrew’s words – not ours!), but we don’t think that we would turn down an invite to spend the afternoon there, given the chance. The Head-on-Stand doesn’t work for us. To look at the horses racing for the finish line ‘head on’ rather than for the side, other than for a steward’s enquiry, is not that appealing, but in saying that, there are many courses that do have stands with that orientation for viewing, angled just past the winning post.
The Head On Stand – Newmarket Racecourse
On a less positive note, the large TV Screen situated near the finishing line didn’t seem that big! It was either too far away or simply not that big, and there was just the one screen. It looked like it was angled to allow those in the Head on Stand to see the race from the side, like everybody else. For the races greater than 1 mile 2 furlongs, the horses will be out of view for the bulk of the time until they join the main straight, as the course runs behind the dykes on the dog leg section, but as the bulk of the racing is 1 mile 2 furlongs or less, we stick with our assessment of an excellent viewing experience. Rating: 9/10.
Parade Ring / Winners Enclosure: The manicured Parade ring and pre-parade ring are fantastic and must be among the best we have come across, with accessibility, layout, and a feeling of being very close to the action.
The Parade Ring – Newmarket Racecourse
The pre-Parade ring allows viewing from the full length and features five standing platforms, evenly spaced to provide excellent views even when it's busy. Right behind you is the large, at just over 80 meters long, perfect oval-shaped Parade ring, with the winner’s enclosure on a chute facing towards the rear of the Millennium stand. The tiered, wide stepped, terracing effect all the way round really works and gives an amphitheatre feel. It’s classy. The elevated disabled viewing area is located just to the side of the Winners enclosure. Rating: 10/10.
Bookmakers / Betting Facilities: The main on-course bookmakers are located at the front of the Millennium stand, and there were 10 bookmakers along with a further 6 or 7 operating on the rails. There were more than enough, and there never seemed to be a queue to put on or collect. William Hill and the Tote seemed to have betting options everywhere you looked. Rating: 10/10.
Catering: Here at Racecourse Advisor, we enjoy doing “racecourse reviews” rather than restaurant reviews. We do not pretend to be food critics. We aim to provide you with an overview of the culinary options and prices available at the racecourse on race days.
You could write a whole book about the catering options available at the course. They range from standard Burgers and Street food to à la Carte options and everything in between. So let’s make our way up the culinary ladder and start in the Boulevard Courtyard located to the rear of the Grandstand and Paddock. Here are concession trucks that seem to be of very high standard, where you can purchase food and drinks and sit under a fair-sized covered canopy if the weather has not been kind.
We have your Standard Burgers and Fries van, with a great strap line of ‘Start the diet tomorrow’. They were offering a Classic burger at £9.50 and a Cheeseburger at £10.50. You could try the Fries with skins on for £5 and a drink can for £2.95. There was also Birch’s Coffee shop, selling a Flat White for £3.90 and a Cappuccino for the same price. If you wanted a Caramel Latte, then that would be £4.20. They also did sandwiches of the usual fillings, like Tuna and Sweetcorn, for £8.00, and American-style toasted sandwiches for between £7 and £8, depending on the filling. They also sold yummy-looking cakes.
Still in the Boulevard Food Court, we had The Smoke Shack that was selling Crispy Chicken Wraps in a tortilla for £9 or a Classic Philly Cheese steak in soft Italian bread for £9. Finally, there was the Fenland Hog Roast if you fancied a hot pork sandwich with the trimmings.
Street Food Vendors – Newmarket Racecourse
Still in the Paddock accessible area, which means you would have access when they do not operate a one-stand policy, there was the very swish Frankel Lounge, a walk-in, sit-down restaurant. Nyetimber recommended wines for your food selections back up the menu. To give you a flavour: Duck Liver Parfait as a starter for £12.00, and for a main, what about Dressed Crab at £27.00, or Chilled Rare Beef Sirloin with all the trimmings for the same price.
The Gordon Richards Bar – Newmarket Racecourse
Moving across and inside the Millennium stand on the ground floor, we had Devils Dyke Restaurant, which is more of a cafeteria-style offering, but again, it looked like top-notch food. They were offering a carvery Roast of the day, which today was prime Roast beef for £14, and Fish and Chips for £13, which seemed really good value. There was also a Grab and Go sandwich counter in the foyer by the restaurant, offering a range of handmade sandwiches for £9.00 and Paninis for £6. You could get a meal deal of panini, chips, and a non-alcoholic drink for £12.
The Fred Archer Bar – Newmarket Racecourse
Nestled between the Fred Archer and the Gordon Richards bar was a Pastie Bar. The Cornish was £7.80, the Cheese and Onion was £6.88, and the Handmade sausage rolls were £6.50. They also offered a meal deal: any pasty and a hot drink for £10.00. The pasties were generously filled and piping hot.
From here, we move upstairs into the hospitality sector. We mentioned the pricing in the ticketing options earlier in the review, but it is fair to say that if you are into fine dining to accompany your racing, the options are vast. In summary, there is more than something for everyone, and you would not go home hungry… unlike on our trip to Leicester. Rating: 10/10.
Guinness Standard: The Guinness was excellent and not a silly price either. It was £7.50, and even better news, it was served in a thick recyclable cup. It wasn’t glass, but it felt like it compared with the ultra-thin, wobbly plastic cups we generally get. There were also lots of bins to deposit your used cups into, and I couldn’t understand why these had locked lids. We didn’t realise they were locked until the result from the Stewards' enquiry reversed the 1st and 2nd placed horses, and they watched with great interest as punters tried to retrieve their discarded betting slips from the locked bins. Rating: 9/10.
Friendliness of Course Staff: The racecourse staff were plentiful and visible. It may have been that they had more staff on for the day, and it did feel like it as well. All our interactions were enjoyable. Rating: 10/10.
Pros & Cons: As you can probably tell, if you have persevered and read this far, we have lots of Pros and very few Cons. So, without getting too picky, the Cons would be that viewing races greater than 1 mile 2 furlongs might be limited until they reach the home straight, and maybe we have a bigger ‘Big’ screen. Apart from those, we are struggling to find any more negatives.
The long list of Pros really does mean this is a top-class course for us. Fantastic viewing on all counts, tremendous choice of catering and quality options at that, easy access, plentiful parking, high-quality racing, and you get all this for an admission price that pleasantly surprised us! Rating: 9/10.
The Discover Newmarket Tour: In addition to our entrance tickets, we had opted for the Discover Newmarket Tour, which was £30 when booked in advance and included admission. The tour started an hour before the 1st race and gave you access to the Weighing Room and a chat with one of the jockey’s valets who explained saddles, weights and protocol, followed by a walk around the inside of the Parade ring and Winners' enclosure.
The tour moved onto the 4th Floor, where it looked inside the private boxes and the views afforded from there. That alone was well worth the cost of the tour. You then went to the opposite side of the stand to look at the Winner's enclosure and Parade ring from the top floor. Then into the Champions Gallery restaurant, with its impressive sloping, floor-to-ceiling windows and then a trip down in the glass elevator, looking out over the full Parade ring to the ground floor! Along the ground floor and up in the small lift to the Royal Box. The view was special, but more so the history and the stories that would have occurred in that Royal Box. It was a special tour, and the guide didn’t need to say a lot as we were all too busy taking pictures and absorbing it all. Overall, in our opinion, it was well worth it!
The question we always ask ourselves after any visit to a racecourse is “would we return”? The answer in the blink of an eye is most definitely we would. Newmarket – Rowley Mile is an outstanding racecourse, and it should be at the very top of your list.
Overall Racecourse Advisor Rating: 9.6/10.
The entire day's racing results can be found here: https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/meeting/2025-10-22/newmarket/115161
Facilities & Location Map Newmarket Racecourse – Rowley Mile: (Image acknowledged & credited to The Jockey Club Ltd.)
Aerial View of Newmarket Racecourses: (Image acknowledged & credited to Google Earth)
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