Pegasus World Cup – January
Saturday, 25th January 2020. The Pegasus World Cup is a Thoroughbred, flat horse race, held in Florida, with a distance of 9 furlongs. The race is open to horses of four years-old+ and the $12 million makes it one of the richest horse races in the world, surpassing the Dubai World Cup at a point in time, but has since dropped to $9 million in 2019.
This event is new in the world of racing, having only been in place since 2016, compared to other high profile events being in the sports calendar for hundreds of years.
Cheltenham Festival – March
The racing festival will stretch across four days from the 10th to the 13th of March 2020.
Annually held in Gloucestershire, England, the prize is second in the country (Grand National being the 1st). The race generates millions of pounds in betting and has an average spectatorship of 65,000 over the week, leading to the atmosphere being referred to as the ‘Cheltenham roar’.
Despite originating in 1860, the race has been consistently held at Cheltenham since 1911 and a spartically in the years before.
The Grand National – April
Saturday 4th April 2020 will see the Grand National being held at Aintree, Liverpool, England. This is one of the biggest races in the world and the biggest in the UK. The event generates an audience of 600 million people and countless pounds spent on bets each year through bookies and betting sites, like the Winners Enclosure.
First run in 1839, the races have been held annually at Aintree racecourse for the best part of 200 years.
Kentucky Derby – May
Held in Louisville, Kendtucky on the 2nd May 2020. The Kentucky Derby is a Grade 1 race for thoroughbred horses three-years and above. The race has a distance of 1 ¼ miles and has been held without fail since 1875.
This is the first race a horse must win in order to have a chance at winning the Triple Crown, the winner will go on to attempt a win at the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Sateks in order to be crowned with the Triple Crown. But, horses must be three-years-old.
Royal Ascot – June
Much like Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot is stretched across four days, from 16th to 20th of June 2020. The event is held in Berkshire, England and is one of the leading UK horse races and hosts 13 of the countries annual Group 1 races.
This horse race was opened in 1711 by Queen Anne and a royal presence is still in place today with the royal family being avid horse racing supporters and Queen Elizabeth owning several horses in which take part and have won the event.
Melbourne Cup – November
On Tuesday, 3rd November 2020, Australia’s most famous horse race will take part at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne. It is the richest turf race and two-mile handicap race in the world, with a prize total of $8,000,000 in 2019 (the highest it’s ever been), from a total of £701 when it was first run in 1861.