When Is Horse Racing Season? UK Flat and Jumps Season Dates

Last updated: 14/10/2026

Ask a racing fan when horse racing season starts and you'll get two answers. Both are right.

When Is Horse Racing Season?

Horse racing in Britain runs all year round. The Flat turf season goes from late March or early April to early November, the main jumps season runs from October to April, and all-weather Flat racing carries on through the winter, so there's racing somewhere in Britain on almost every day of the year.

The two codes overlap in spring and autumn. October is the clearest example: the Flat builds to its biggest day at Ascot Racecourse while the jumpers come back from their summer break, and the floodlit all-weather tracks run in between.

You can see today's cards in our horse racing betting section.

Horse Racing Calendar 2026 to 2027 at a Glance

The table below covers the major meetings from the rest of the 2026 horse racing calendar into spring and summer 2027. Exact dates are shown where the racecourse has confirmed them. For every horse racing fixture, including the midweek cards that never make the papers, the BHA full-year fixture list is the official source.

When Does the Flat Racing Season Start and End?

The Flat racing season on turf starts with the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster Racecourse in late March or early April and finishes at the same course in early November.

Flat horse racing has no obstacles. It's run over distances from five furlongs to well over two miles, mostly by younger horses bred for speed, and most of it is run on the firmer ground of spring and summer. In the flat season, horse racing fills most Saturdays between May and September.

When Does the Flat Season End?

The Flat season has two end dates, which is where the two answers come from.

British Champions Day at Ascot, on Saturday 17 October 2026, is the end of the Flat season for the big races. The Flat jockeys' championship is settled there too, counting from the Guineas meeting in May.

Turf racing then keeps going for a few more weeks. The November Handicap at Doncaster, on Saturday 7 November 2026, is the last turf Flat meeting of the year.

And the all-weather doesn't stop at all.

So if you're asking when the flat season ends, it's Champions Day for the top races, the November Handicap for turf racing, and never for Flat racing as a whole.

The Major Flat Meetings

• The Guineas, Newmarket (May): the first Classics of the year, for three-year-olds.
• The Derby, Epsom (June): the Classic most people have heard of, run over a mile and a half.
• Royal Ascot (June): five days, top hats, and Group 1 races every afternoon.
• Glorious Goodwood (late July to early August): five days at Goodwood Racecourse, with the Sussex Stakes as the highlight.
• The Ebor Festival, York (August): home of Europe's richest Flat handicap.
• The St Leger, Doncaster (September): the last Classic of the season, and the longest.
• British Champions Day, Ascot (October): the season's finale for the big races.

When Does the Jumps Season Start?

The jumps season officially starts the day after the Jump Finale at Sandown Park in late April, which means it technically never closes.

Jumps racing, also called National Hunt racing, is run over hurdles and fences, and the summer version is a quieter affair, with smaller cards at tracks such as Market Rasen and Newton Abbot keeping things ticking over.

The jump season most fans mean starts in October. That's when the better horses return, the ground softens, and the build-up to Cheltenham in March begins in earnest. The Grand National follows in April, and the season closes at Sandown later that month.

Horse Racing Jump Season Calendar

• October: the better horses return after their summer break.
• November: Cheltenham's November Meeting and the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the first big tests of the season.
• December: the Tingle Creek at Sandown, then the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow straight after.
• January and February: trials for Cheltenham, and the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown in Ireland.
• March: the Cheltenham Festival, Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027.
• April: the Grand National Festival at Aintree, the Scottish Grand National at Ayr, and the Jump Finale at Sandown.

If you follow the jumps, the Cheltenham tips and Cheltenham Gold Cup guides cover the week the whole season builds towards.

Is There Horse Racing in Winter? All-Weather Racing Explained

Yes. Winter is the busiest time of year for jumps racing, and Flat racing carries on through it on all-weather tracks.

All-weather tracks use a synthetic surface instead of turf, so they can race when grass courses can't. Britain has six of them: Chelmsford City, Kempton Park, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton racecourses. Several race under floodlights, which is how you end up with a full Flat card on a Monday night in January.

The all-weather has its own season, the All-Weather Championships, which builds to Finals Day at Newcastle Racecourse on Good Friday, 26 March 2027.

Winter does cost the odd fixture. Frost and waterlogged ground can call off a turf meeting, and courses often hold an early-morning inspection before deciding whether racing goes ahead.

Flat vs Jumps Racing: What's the Difference?

Flat racing has no obstacles. Jumps racing has hurdles or fences, and longer distances, from around two miles up to the Grand National's four miles and more.

The horses differ too. Flat horses often race at two and three and are bred for speed. Jumps horses tend to be older, are usually bred to stay, and many don't run over fences until they're five or six.

Ground is the main reason for the two seasons. Most Flat racing suits the firmer going of spring and summer, although individual horses have their own preferences. Jumping is safer on softer ground, which is why the main jumps season runs through the wetter months.

What About Racing in Ireland?

Irish racing follows the same rhythm, with Flat racing through the summer and jumps through the winter, and a calendar of festivals that British racing fans follow closely:

• Leopardstown at Christmas: a four-day jumps festival straight after Christmas Day.
• The Dublin Racing Festival (February): Ireland's biggest jumps weekend before Cheltenham.
• Punchestown (late April to early May): the Irish jumps season's closing festival.
• Galway (late July to early August): a week of mixed Flat and jumps racing.
• The Irish Champions Festival (September): top Flat racing at Leopardstown and the Curragh.

Following and Betting on Racing Through the Year

Midnite prices all UK and Irish racecourses, plus selected meetings in Europe, the US and elsewhere, so whatever the season, today's cards are in the horse racing section.

If you're new to it, our guide on how to bet on horse racing covers the basics, and the explainers on each-way bets and what SP means cover the two terms that come up on every racecard. For opinions on individual races, there's our horse racing tips page.

Racing every day of the week means it's worth deciding how often you'll bet, not just how much. A Net Spend Limit (your deposits minus withdrawals over a day, week or month) or a Cool Off in your account settings can help, and the full list of tools is in our Responsible Play hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Horse Racing Seasons?

British racing has two main seasons: the Flat, which runs on turf from late March or early April to early November, and the jumps, which peaks from October to April. All-weather Flat racing continues all year.

Is Horse Racing All Year Round?

Yes. Between the Flat, the jumps and the all-weather tracks, there's racing in Britain on almost every day of the year. Only a handful of days, such as Christmas Day, have no racing at all.

What Are the Horse Racing Fixtures for 2026?

The major meetings left in 2026 are British Champions Day on 17 October, the November Handicap on 7 November, Cheltenham's November Meeting, the Tingle Creek, and the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. The calendar table above has the rest, and the BHA fixture list covers every meeting.

Is There Any Horse Racing in Winter?

Yes. Winter is the peak of the jumps season, and all-weather Flat racing runs throughout it. Cold weather can still cause the odd abandonment on turf.

The Racing Year, in Short

Flat on turf from spring to early November, jumps through the winter, all-weather all year. Whichever code you follow, the cards are on our horse racing page.

Pick a budget that still feels fine if every horse you back finishes down the field, and stick to it across the whole card. If racing stops feeling like fun, the Responsible Play hub and GamCare are there to help.

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About the author

Jordan Willmott is Sportsbook Experience Manager at Midnite, where he leads the team behind sportsbook operations and propositions, from bet settlement and price boosts to the range of markets and specials available across every sport on site. He has spent 13 years in sportsbook and trading, previously in similar roles at BetVictor, Sporting Index and Sky Betting & Gaming. He writes here on how markets are built, made available and settled once the whistle goes. Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn.