For more information about the St Leger and to book online, please visit the Doncaster Racecourse website.

For other excursions and activities in the north of England, why not see what Viator has to offer?

For worldwide excursions, tours and tickets, please visit our main Viator page.

(We earn commission at no extra cost to you on any bookings made using our links, so please help us to keep the site going by using our links. Thank you.)

In Spain there are no bookies in the high street and although online betting is growing, most of the money changes hands on-course. To make life a little more complicated, prices do not appear on the monitors at the course until about ten minutes before the race. With each race scheduled on the half-hour we had just enough time to watch the race then go to the paddock and view the next group of horses, then on to one of the betting booths to place a bet and back to the stand just in time for starter’s orders. Apart from rendering the hospitality tents surplus to requirements it also meant that when we looked at the horses in the paddock we had no idea of the odds on any of them. So our expertise was surely tested, having to rely on the form and breeding of the horse, the shape of its neck and hind quarters, how it behaved in the paddock or, in my case, whether it had an amusing name or the jockey looked a friendly sort. By the way, unlike in the UK, races include both male and female jockeys. After making a decision on the horse you arrive at the betting booth to see the price offered with very little time to change your mind if you don’t like the odds.

Minimum bet is one euro and in addition to just betting on the winner there are a whole series of familiar combinations which appeared very popular, such as place bets, 1^st and 2^nd reversibles, doubles and trebles etc.

Ticket prices range from €9 to €30, available at the course on race day from 10am onwards. The most expensive ticket gives you access to the stand by the finishing line and a number of hospitality tents, a different place to park your car and entrance to the inner paddock where you can view the riders and horses close up. We paid the extra to get access to the paddock, only to find that while the horses and riders paraded round a small circuit we were on the inside of the ring and those paying €9 were on the outside. Unless in my ignorance one side of the horse is more important than the other, it doesn’t warrant the extra cost.

What is worth extra is the stand by the finishing line. Especially if it is your horse with the daft name that makes a late run in the final furlong to come thundering through and nick it at the line in a photo finish.

Seasons/races

During the spring season from March until June, race meetings take place every Sunday at 11am and from late April onward on Friday evening. There is also a summer season from July to August with races on Thursday evenings.

Transport

Only ten minutes’ drive from the city centre up the A6 at Aravaca. There is also a free bus service from Moncloa on race days or bus 162 Moncloa – El Barrial.

Tickets

Prices: €9, €12, €30 available at the course on race day, online at www.entradas.com or tel: 902 488 488

Further information from:

www.hipodromodezarzuela.es

When I first began to ask around what people knew about horse racing in Madrid, many people responded to the tune of: “I didn’t know there was one in Madrid”, “I think it’s closed” or “Yeah, but it’s not very popular”.

The latter is probably true. One of the first things that would strike any racing fan who comes to Spain is that the sport is not very big here. There are at most only ten courses in the whole country. In fact, the course in Madrid was closed for nine years from 1996 when a lack of interest made it economically unviable. When it reopened in 2005 it was to be under state control with the intention of selling it off to private enterprise. There weren’t any takers and it remains to this day effectively a nationalised racecourse run by a number of state bodies including the National Lottery. Here, races are just as likely to be sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Rural Affairs as they are Vodafone or William Hill.

Maybe it doesn’t make much money, but thankfully it’s kept open as part of the national heritage. Situated only ten minutes by bus or car from Madrid city centre, the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela is a charming track with spectacular views across the El Pardo parkland in one direction and to the Madrid city skyline in the other. The impressive Art Deco grandstands, styled on the San Siro in Milan and now being renovated, were built by the engineer Eduardo Torroja for the opening in 1941. And, knowing the weather in Madrid, I was surprised to find the course – in spring at least – is a lush green turf.

We decided to go to the second meeting of the year, in April, when racing takes place every Sunday from 11am to 2pm. From March to June they race on a turf track, changing to sand in July and August when there are also floodlit night races. I say we, as I thought it best to take someone along with some knowhow when it comes to racehorses, especially as I intended to have a flutter on every race. It’s also worth swotting up on the vocab. Even if you consider yourself to be a reasonable Spanish speaker, as I do, I can honestly say that after ten years in Spain I’ve never had cause to know the Spanish for “colt”, “gelding” or “filly”.

It was a Spanish friend of mine who referred to the races as a bit “elitist”. To be honest, that’s always been my impression of horse racing in general, but I was to be pleasantly surprised by the mix of people on the day I went. There were one or two Barbours and green wellies but no noticeable dress code and a good relaxed atmosphere overall. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, three large grandstands, gardens and playgrounds for the kids.

Mind you, we didn’t have a great deal of time to relax. Determined to get the most out of the price of our tickets, we found ourselves busily trotting from one place to another in an effort to keep up with the six races scheduled for the day…

Read Part Two

by David Stanley © 2008

All photos are digitally watermarked; please don’t infringe copyright!

David adds:

“Here you can see the teams lined up on the Papeete waterfront for an outrigger race around Moorea Island as part of the Heiva i Tahiti festival. The race takes several hours to complete, with hundreds of Tahitian paddlers participating.”

David has spent several years on the move around the South Pacific. You can learn much more about the many destinations in the South Seas on his website:
South Pacific Travel

by Jonathan Taylor © 2007

A traditional Thai boat race team practise for an upcoming Boat Race Festival.

Author: Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor is an English freelance photographer whose work has appeared in numerous international publications. His Photography School Asia photography classes are now available online via his website: