Plumpton Races Today – Read Plumpton Tips from East Sussex Track
Nestled in the rolling South Downs, Plumpton races today has been the home of horse racing in East Sussex since 1884 and remains as popular as ever with punters.
In this guide, we delve into the history of this famous racecourse, take a look at the track’s configuration and highlight the big races we give Plumpton tips on throughout the year.
History of Plumpton Racecourse
Officially opened on 28 December 1876, Plumpton was initially a coursing venue, but hosted its first horse race, a hunters’ selling hurdle won by Cowslip with Harry Escott on board in 1884.
Four years later, Plumpton moved away from hares and into horses full time, when Alexander Popham purchased the entire estate. He phased out coursing in 1889, although it was briefly reintroduced later on.
In 1902, this venue officially became Plumpton Racecourse with a new two-mile hurdles tracked added alongside the steeplechase circuit laid down a few years before.
Things ran smoothly until the impact of World War 1 saw racing suspended between 1916 and late December 1919. From there, steady development took place, including a lump sum for drainage improvement in 1937, before racing at Plumpton paused again during World War II between 1942 and early 1946.
More renovations followed in subsequent decades. The opening of the stable staff hostel (1964), installation of a new weighing room (1983), opening of the Southdown Stand (1987) and the Kybo Stand (now the Lewes Stand) in 1990.
Plumpton has witnessed some memorable moments in recent years, including win 3,000 of Sir Tony McCoy’s career, when the Northern Irishman rode Restless D’Artaix to glory in the Tyser & Co Beginners’ Chase on 9 February 2009.
In April 2025, jockey Marc Goldstein enjoyed an incredible afternoon at Plumpton, winning on all of his rides (Onomaris, Westarra, Ballintara and Macari) and completing an astonishing 5,745-1 four-timer.
Is Plumpton Races Today Flat or Jumps?
Plumpton is a jumps-only course and one of the UK’s exclusive National Hunt racing venues, with no Flat action to speak of, apart from the odd bumper on cards now and then. This is a left-handed, sharp and undulating track, with a full lap just nine furlongs all the way around, making it compact enough to keep things exciting.
For hurdle races, there are just five flights on a complete circuit: one after the winning post, two down the back straight and two more after turning for home. Punters should consider where the obstacles on the track are, alongside Plumpton racing tips today in both disciplines.
The chase course, meanwhile, ups the ante with six fences per lap. Again, one of these comes after the winning post. The last of three fences in the back straight is an open ditch. Following a downhill run, that leaves two plain fences after the home turn, followed by an uphill finish.
The fence at the crest of the hill has been known to catch out novices, but jockeys on a good jumper can afford to be more aggressive. Anyone making Plumpton tips today would need to factor those aspects into their thinking when analysing the possible outcome or races.
Key Plumpton Races Fixtures
Plumpton hosts around 16 fixtures and racecards annually, spread across the winter months to capitalise on the core jump racing calendar and season. However, it’s worth noting that there are no Listed, graded or major races held at the track.
With no elite action, the value lies in the competitive fields, and our AI algorithms and race passes use a data-driven approach to spot opportunities in every betting race.
Two big race meetings anchor the year: The Plumpton Easter Festival over the Easter Weekend, a weekend festival with Premier Raceday status on Sunday, boasting £200,000 in prize money, which is split across seven races. The feature races here are the Sussex Champion Hurdle and Sussex Champion Chase.
January’s Sussex National card, including the Sussex Stayers Handicap Hurdle race and Sussex National Handicap Chase within, is the other marquee race day here. For Plumpton races today results, our horse racing results hub links you straight to what happened on the course.
The Biggest Races We Have Plumpton Tips on
At RacingTipster, we preview races and deliver Plumpton racing tips based on form, trainer stats and track biases. Here are some of the biggest races we cover:
Sussex Champion Hurdle
This Class 2 handicap hurdle race over approximately two miles is the Easter Festival showpiece over the smaller obstacles.
First prize in 2025 was over £39,000 with 9/4 favourite Absurde, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Harry Cobden, storming home by over four lengths.
Our Champ delivered in 2024 for Chris Gordon with Rex Dingle on board, while Teddy Blue scoring for the Gary & Josh Moore racing duo in 2023.
Notable former winners include Court Minstrel, a Grade 2 winner at Cheltenham, and Diego Du Charmil, who went on to succees at Aintree. Our Plumpton horse racing tips for this event usually look for speedy types that are also fluent jumpers.
Sussex Stayers Handicap Hurdle
A Class 2 handicap hurdle race over three miles and a furlong in January, this stamina-sapper is one of the best Plumpton races today, because it tends to suit hardened stayers. Unfortunately, this year’s edition was abandoned due to a massive amount of rainfall waterlogged the course.
In 2024, however, Transmission won the sole edition of this to date for trainer Neil Mulholland and jockey Joe Anderson, claiming the first-place prize of over £39,000 in the process. Our horse racing tips for Plumpton identified Transmission as a horse to follow closely.
Sussex Champion Chase
This Class 2 handicap chase at the Easter Festival covers almost two-and-a-half miles. Open to horses rated 0-145, first prize in the race was £26,164 in 2024. Under new sponsorship this year, however, the Sussex Champion Chase winners’ purse received a massive boost to £52,810.
Paul Nicholls’s Sans Bruit (8/1) jumped well and claimed the increased bounty on 1 April with Jay Tidball claiming 5lb off, and unfancied stablemate Matterhorn in behind him.
Only seven ran in the 2024 edition, with Scarface claiming the spoils for Joe Tizzard. Our Plumpton races tips have picked out some winners for the Sussex Champion Chase in recent years.
Sussex National Handicap Chase
This race, usually held in early January, is an extended Class 3 handicap chase for horses rated 0-135 over three-and-a-half miles, though it was delayed until February in 2025 due to some typically quarrelsome British weather conditions. As any good Plumpton course guide tells you, this race passes the winning post three times, so horses must have stamina.
First prize was just shy of £18,500, and that wedge was collected by Invincible Nao (100/30) and Caoilin Quinn for Gary & Josh Moore. The Sussex National has become a seasonal favourite with punters betting on Plumpton races today, and has often been a proving ground for future long-distance winners in other regional Nationals.
FAQs
Is Plumpton Races on Today?
If there are no Plumpton races listed here today, don’t worry. Look out for meetings scheduled for throughout the winter months, however, We recommend bookmarking this page, so you stay on top of the latest updates and tips for all fixtures from this track.
Where is Plumpton Racecourse?
Located in East Sussex, near the South Downs, Plumpton has easy access via the London Victoria to Lewes line. There’s a railway station just a five-minute walk away from the track.
What Happened at Plumpton Races Today?
Punters can look forward to meetings on the horizon later in the year during the core jumps season. The track hosts plenty of fixtures in November, December and January each year, plus their Easter Festival, so there are plenty of upcoming events coming up. We’ll have free Plumpton races today tips for each one.
Why Give Free Plumpton Tips?
We provide free Plumpton race tips to level the playing field between punter and bookie. Our AI algorithms know how to spot value and we’re happy to share those insights with you for free. For full transparency, we like to drive traffic to our trusted partners.
Where Can I Find Tips and Plumpton Races Results Today?
You can find free racing tips for Plumpton and other courses here at RacingTipster. Our homepage and sub-sections are updated every day with fresh racing predictions to back, with tips provided for all popular racing events, along with UK and Irish races and meetings.
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