Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 19/06/2026 21:20:00

High on the South Downs above Brighton, the city's racecourse occupies a dramatic clifftop position on Whitehawk Hill, around a mile from the coast and with sweeping views over the sea and the city. Racing here dates back to 1783, when the first organised meeting was held, giving the course more than two centuries of more or less continuous flat-racing history on the same stretch of downland. The track is one of the most distinctive in the country, an undulating, horseshoe-shaped circuit that produces unpredictable, characterful racing. Its flat-racing calendar runs from April to October and includes a mix of afternoon and evening fixtures, building each August to the headline three-day Festival of Racing, the centrepiece of the season. The course has a long and colourful past, having drawn fashionable Georgian and Victorian society and benefited from the arrival of the railway in the 1840s, which brought crowds from London. Now managed by the Arena Racing Company, it has seen investment in its fixtures and facilities while retaining the seaside character that has long defined it. Beyond the racing, the 20-acre site functions as a versatile events venue, with a variety of halls, suites and lawns available for hire. It hosts conferences, exhibitions, weddings and private parties throughout the year, trading on the same spectacular setting and combined parking for around 1,000 cars. Reached easily from the A27 and A23, Brighton Racecourse pairs its sporting heritage with a packed programme of family fun days, fairs and seasonal events. The combination of clifftop views, a challenging course and flexible event space has kept it one of the most popular racing venues in the south of England. Among the most celebrated chapters in its long history is its place in the Sussex racing fortnight, when its summer meetings followed the Glorious Goodwood festival and drew large crowds to the coast. Today it balances that sporting tradition with a busy year-round programme of events that makes use of its spectacular downland setting.