I've spent over 20 years inside the betting industry. I'll guide you to avoid the hype, ignore the noise, and steer clear of the common pitfalls that catch out everyday punters.
Horse racing is one of the most popular sports in the UK, with over 4.8 million people attending these events as recently as 2022.
Discover the Best UK Racecourses for 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to a Glamorous Day at the Races!
Attending the races can make a great day out with friends and family, filled with excitement. But with almost 1,500 race days across up to 60 different racecourses, choosing which event to attend can be challenging.
We’ve analysed various factors, including review scores, social media presence, and ticket prices, to help determine which UK racecourses you should add to your must-visit list in 2025.
Ascot is the best racecourse in the UK, with a score of 7.97 out of 10
We’ve looked at social media, reviews, race days, and prices to reveal the best racecourses for you and your friends to visit in the UK.
Ascot - 7.97 out of 10 racecourse score
Topping the list of the best UK racecourses to visit is Ascot, scoring 7.97 out of 10. Located in Berkshire, the racecourse welcomes over 300,000 visitors during its Royal Ascot festival, which takes place over five days in June2. On the Thursday of the festival, Ascot Racecourse holds its Ladies Day event (also known as Gold Cup Day), with tickets starting from £34.
The racecourse is one of the most popular in the UK, not just with the Royal Family. Ascot Racecourse has around 303,900 followers across Instagram and X and generated over 1.13 million Google searches last year. It also receives a rating of 4.6 on Google and 4.5 on Tripadvisor, with visitors commending the venue for its vast array of bars and restaurants and its distance to the nearest train station, just a 10-minute walk away.
Beverley - 6.83 out of 10 racecourse score
Beverley Racecourse places second with a racecourse score of 6.83 out of 10. The venue has an impressive review score of 4.5 out of 5 on Google and Tripadvisor, with attendees praising its friendly and helpful staff, efficient service, and clean facilities. Beverley Racecourse has almost 25,600 followers across its official Instagram and X accounts.
The venue’s Ladies Day is held in August, with ticket prices starting from just £10. Those visiting Beverley Racecourse and travelling by train can expect a 34-minute walk to and from the venue. There are almost 20 events to be held at the racecourse in 2025, providing plenty of opportunities to visit with your family and friends.
Musselburgh - 6.47 out of 10 racecourse score
Next is Musselburgh Racecourse, scoring 6.47 out of 10. Located in the East Lothian area, Musselburgh is the second-biggest racecourse in Scotland. Its Ladies Day event, held in August, is an annual sell-out, with ticket prices starting from £57. The venue has 25 race days planned for this year.
Musselburgh Racecourse has a 4.5-star rating on Google and Tripadvisor, with previous attendees commending the “first class” service, hospitality packages, and “terrific atmosphere.” The venue has around 46,200 followers across Instagram and X and gained over 186,100 Google searches over the last year.
Newcastle Racecourse has the most race days planned for 2025, with 85 scheduled events
Newcastle - 85 race days
Newcastle Racecourse has a variety of events planned throughout 2025, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to visit the venue with family and friends. The racecourse’s Ladies Day event is scheduled for 26 July and features a Bongo’s Bingo party. There are also multiple student events taking place throughout the year for those attending local universities.
Sedgefield Racecourse offers the most affordable ticket price at just £5 for a single adult ticket
A day at the races can be expensive, especially with food, drink and travel costs included, so it helps to save money where you can. We’ve revealed the racecourses with the cheapest price for an adult single ticket.
Sedgefield - £5 cheapest ticket price
For those wanting an affordable but fun day out at the races, Sedgefield Racecourse is the place to visit. The venue, located in Stockton-on-Tees, will host its Ladies Evening event on the 11th of April, and ticket prices start from just £5. This ticket grants attendees access to all public bars, restaurants, betting outlets, and views of the pre-parade and parade ring.
Cheltenham Racecourse is also the most-searched racing venue on Google, with over 1.2 million searches
A great way of seeing how popular a racecourse is is by looking at how often it is searched. We’ve delved into Google search data to find the racecourses with the most searches in 2023.
Cheltenham - 1,244,000 Google searches
Cheltenham Racecourse also takes the top spot as the most-searched UK racecourse. Over 1.2 million Google searches were made for the venue last year, showing how well-loved it is. Its most popular event is the Cheltenham Festival, which will occur between the 11th and 14th of March this year. The festival includes Champion Day, Style Wednesday, St Patrick’s Thursday, and Gold Cup Day.
Cheltenham is the most Instagrammable racecourse, with almost 100,000 posts
Cheltenham - 99,700 Instagram posts
One of the biggest parts of race day events is fashion, providing attendees the perfect opportunity to snap photos in their finest outfits. Cheltenham Racecourse is the most Instagrammable racing venue, with over 99,700 posts under the hashtag #cheltenhamraces.
The venue runs a “dressed to feel your best” policy, meaning attendees can wear whatever they feel the most confident in, whether this is a sophisticated sweatshirt, pair of jeans and smart trainers, or a sharp suit or glamorous dress and heels.
How popular are UK racecourses on social media platforms?
Below, we’ve also considered each racecourse's following on a selection of social media sites such as Instagram and X. Unsurprisingly, Cheltenham and Ascot battle it out to be named winners of the social stables - but which other racecourses are appealing to audiences online?
The racecourse with the most Instagram followers is… Ascot
Ascot retains its title as the most followed UK racecourse on Instagram. However, over the past year, its account has seen an increase of more than 26,000 followers. This is similar growth to that of Cheltenham, and the online presence of these two venues is substantial compared to the rest!
The racecourse with the most X followers is… Cheltenham
Originally known as Twitter, X has always been a popular platform in the UK. However, this is less so now, with platforms such as BlueSky also building up interest in the past few months. Cheltenham beats Ascot in this category, and York follows in third.
Methodology
We used Instagram to find the number of hashtags for each racecourse (e.g. #ascotraces) and the number of followers for each racecourse’s official account.
We used X to find the number of followers for each racecourse’s official account.
We used Buzzsumo to gather the article sentiment for each racecourse, taking the percentage of love reactions.
We used Google Keyword Planner to gather the number of searches made for each racecourse between January and December 2024.
We collected each racecourse’s average review score from Google and Tripadvisor.
We recorded the number of race days throughout 2025 at each racecourse from the British Horseracing Authority. The number of race days held at Down Royal Racecourse was sourced from Horse Racing Ireland.
We used each racecourse’s individual website to discover the cheapest ticket available on their Ladies Day/Evening event. If an event of this type wasn’t listed, we used the cheapest ticket price for the racecourse's biggest event.
We used Google Maps to record the number of minutes it would take to walk from the nearest train station to each racecourse.
Finally, we gave each factor a normalised score out of 10 before taking an average across all factors to form our overall score. Each racecourse has a lower score than our 2024 guide due to different factors being analysed.
All data is correct as of 5 February 2025.
