Boxing Day Horse Racing Guide – All 26 December Fixtures in the UK & Ireland

The Boxing Day horse racing in the British Isles is a big part of the annual tradition surrounding 26 December and its status as a huge day for sport. We’re talking about one of the biggest horse racing days of the core jump season, not just the festive season.

In this guide to horse racing on Boxing Day, we discuss all the jump races of note and where they take place. Some of these attract the finest horses in training for a run over the Christmas and New Year period that is so enjoyable for racing fans. Let’s start with the many Boxing Day racing fixtures themselves.

Boxing Day Horse Racing Fixtures in the UK

There are eight meetings in total on 26 December in mainland Britain. There are lots of chances to place bets on horse racing, then. All but one of these fixtures are over jumps.

Wolverhampton is the exception as it only hosts All-Weather Flat races. Check out what’s on and where on Boxing Day in this great sport below:

• Aintree Racecourse (Jumps), Liverpool, Merseyside
• Fontwell Park Racecourse (Jumps), Sussex
• Kempton Park Racecourse (Jumps), Sunbury-on-Thames, Greater London
• Market Rasen Racecourse (Jumps), Lincolnshire
• Sedgefield Racecourse (Jumps), County Durham
• Wetherby Racecourse (Jumps), West Yorkshire
• Wincanton Racecourse (Jumps), Somerset
• Wolverhampton Racecourse (All-Weather Racing), West Midlands

We also provide horse racing tips from all this action. The major meetings and Premier Racedays from 26 December are also worth a closer look individually.

Aintree Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

The Aintree Boxing Day races are a relatively new edition to the horse racing calendar, replacing a meeting at Huntingdon Racecourse. It made sense for both courses.

With both tracks owned by The Jockey Club, transferring the fixture in 2023 proved relatively easy. Huntingdon’s recent record of getting its race meetings on throughout December wasn’t great.

Not only has Aintree taken on the Boxing Day horse racing cards from another venue, but also repurposed a feature race from elsewhere too. The Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle used to be at Sandown in early January.

This moved to Merseyside in 2023 and became the Formby Novices’ Hurdle. Here are the Boxing Day horse races at Aintree all sponsored by William Hill:

Kempton Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

King George VI Chase day at Kempton Park needs no introduction to even casual horse racing fans. Of all the jumps races on Boxing Day, this card is the most prestigious because it includes three Grade 1 events.

The Kauto Star Novices’ Chase over the King George course and distance of three miles, formerly the Feltham Novices’ Chase and run in memory of Nigel Clark, is the first top-level staying steeplechase for inexperienced horses over fences in the UK.

Also part of the Boxing Day racing at Kempton is the Christmas Hurdle. Run over two miles, this is the middle leg of Triple Crown of Hurdling. Horses successful in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle four weeks or so beforehand come on to this race with the Champion Hurdle during the Cheltenham Festival completing the set.

Kempton Boxing Day races are all about the King George VI Chase. As with the Christmas Hurdle, this is part of its own Triple Crown for staying steeplechases. The King George follows on from the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park in November and winners go on to contest the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

Here is all the Kempton racing on Boxing Day from their King George VI Chase day card on 26 December all sponsored by Ladbrokes:

Market Rasen Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

One of the less exalted but still traditional Boxing Day horse racing meetings now. Market Rasen Racecourse is the only track in the county of Lincolnshire with events under Rules, so that means a good crowd gathers outside the market town of the same name on 26 December.

The Lincolnshire National over almost three-and-a-half miles is the feature handicap chase on this day of racing. In the table below, you’ll find the entire race schedule for the Market Rasen Boxing Day races as it stands:

Wetherby Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

Like Kempton, Wetherby Racecourse has a two-day fixture on 26 and 27 December with the William Hill Yorkshire Christmas Meeting at the West Yorkshire track. Headlining the Boxing Day horse racing here is the Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase.

A Premier Handicap over three miles, it is of the most prestigious races of its kind in the north. Rowland Meyrick winners go on to the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock or the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster in January. See the full schedule of Wetherby Boxing Day races below:

Wincanton Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

There’s a big day of horse racing on 26 December at Wincanton Racecourse too. The West Country track has the Lord Stalbridge Cup Handicap Chase as its big race over fences for straying steeplechasers.

Wincanton Boxing Day races also features a Pertemps Qualifier for staying handicap hurdlers. Check out the complete card from the Somerset course in full right here:

Boxing Day Horse Racing Meetings in Ireland

On top of those eight fixtures in mainland Britain, add three more on St Stephen’s Day in the Emerald Isle. While Northern Ireland has a card at Down Royal, the Republic has two meetings.

These are the respective opening days of four-day Christmas Festivals at Leopardstown outside Dublin and Limerick further south and west. It’s those fixtures in particular that are worth closer inspections:

• Down Royal Racecourse (Jumps), County Down, Northern Ireland
• Leopardstown Racecourse (Jumps), County Dublin
• Limerick Racecourse (Jumps), County Limerick

Leopardstown Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

The best of the action for those betting on horse racing on St Stephen’s Day comes from Leopardstown. Until 2024, this card contained a Grade 1 novice chase over an extended two miles, but IHRB scrapped the event due to dwindling field sizes.

Taking over in the headline slot is a staying novice chase officially registered as the Fort Leney but sponsored by the Racing Post. Supporting this is a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle that often proves informative for the future. These are all the Leopardstown races on St Stephen’s Day this year:

Limerick Races on Boxing Day in More Detail

The Boxing Day horse racing at Limerick Racecourse in southwest Ireland has undergone some changes in recent times. Faugheen won the feature Grade 1 novice chase to a thunderous ovation from adoring crowds at the Greenmount Park track in 2019.

Ever since then, the race has been named after him, but the Faugheen Novice Chase is now on 28 December. Replacing it as the feature on day 1 of the Limerick Christmas Festival is a Grade 2 staying novice hurdle race registered as the Dorans Pride. View all of the Limerick St Stephen’s Day races here:

ITV Racing Schedule on Boxing Day

With 26 December being such an iconic day in the sport of horse racing, terrestrial television invariably covers the best action in the UK. That is where ITV Racing on Boxing Day comes in.

There are several races you can watch live for free by tuning in during the early afternoon. This is what ITV has to offer on the Boxing Day horse racing front this year:

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