Horse Racing on Your Hen Weekend

Why not have something completely different on your hen weekend and take you and the girls to the track to watch horse racing? Whether you’re a gambler, equestrian or just a lover of something with a bit of pace, the race track is an excellent daytime activity that provides excitement and adrenaline on your last weekend of freedom.

What is horse racing?

Horse racing is a popular sport throughout the world and in the UK it is the main sport for the British betting industry. It’s popularity as a sport was really championed by James the first who introduced the now famous location of Newmarket to horse racing and indeed spent so much of his time there that the House of Commons issued a petition to ask him to concentrate more on running the country!

If this is a sport fit for a king then it’s certainly fit for our lovely hens on their hen weekend. Nowadays there are 59 licensed race courses in the UK so wherever you choose to have your hen weekend, you can be sure that it won’t be hard to find a good race course. The two main types of racing that can be enjoyed in the UK are flat racing, where the course is without obstacles and National Hunt Racing, where the horses have to race over fences or hurdles. Each horse is ridden by a jockey and of course the objective is to finish first!

What can you expect?

Race courses are usually set in the countryside so that there is plenty of ground to race the horses on. Chances are you will want to drive or arrange transportation to the venue and most racecourse have information on the best way of accessing their track. Once you arrive you can either purchase tickets on entry or have prepaid entry. You will also need to purchase a race form if you want to know the names of the horses in each race. The race form also gives you brief information about how a horse has run in previous races, but for most people, this information isn’t needed if you’re only going for a social occasion.

There is usually a bar where you can buy drinks and you may even be able to get food or sit down and have a meal depending on the track. This makes it a wonderful social occasion just perfect for a hen weekend. Leading up to the races you’ll be able to place bets if you want to, and then keep your fingers crossed as you watch the horse race either from outside or on TV screens which are usually positioned around the track.

Why horse racing on a hen weekend?

Even if you don’t want to gamble, horse racing on a hen weekend is an enjoyable social occasion. You can dress up formally or wear casual attire and even enjoy a meal and a drink there. You can enjoy the excitement of having a little flutter on the horses or just sit back, relax and enjoy the company of your closest friends. Either way, horse racing on a hen weekend is something different that makes for a memorable occasion.