Southwell Races Today – Read Southwell Tips from Nottinghamshire Track
You can make a trip to Southwell races today all year round. On this page, we bring you everything you need to know about this Nottinghamshire track.
That includes history, information about the course and the big races that you can expect to find Southwell tips about.
History of Southwell Racecourse
The first records of racing in the Newark area date back to the mid-1800s. Informal races then took place between local landowners on Burgage Green actually in the centre of Southwell.
By 1886, racing was so popular that a change of site was necessary, with the action moving to land alongside the Ropewalk and Kirklington Road, within the town.
In 1898 there was another change of venue, with a 1200-seater wooden grandstand taking centre stage at a new course in the nearby village of Rolleston, where Southwell races today still take place.
Only occasional bad flooding and the little matter of two World Wars have interrupted the Southwell schedule in the years since.
Floods have been a particular issue over the years, especially in 2012 and 2023, when it caused the course to temporarily close. In 1989, an All-Weather track was laid and Southwell became the first course to put on an AW National Hunt meeting.
Now owned by the Arena Racing Company, Southwell hit the headlines in 2019 due to betting drones flying over the track and transmitting coverage of races over the internet, two seconds ahead of broadcasters, giving punters an advantage when live betting.
Is Southwell Races Today Jumps or Flat?
Southwell hosts National Hunt racing on their turf course and Flat races on their All-Weather racing track. You will find Southwell horse tips for both disciplines here at Racing Tipster, which take into account the very different surfaces.
The jumps course is a left-handed tight track with a flat oval of a mile round. There are portable fences at the track, with seven to jump on a complete circuit in steeplechases, with the last of four down the back straight being an open ditch.
For hurdle races, featuring stiff brush style hurdles, horses jump three in the back and two in the home straight on a full circuit. From the back of the last hurdle or fence, the run-in to the winning post is about a furlong.
It is a speed-orientated track that suits strong travellers, which is a consideration for our Southwell betting tips. The All-Weather course is on the outside of the jumps track. There is a five-furlong chute for sprint races and a three-furlong run-in off the home turn on the round course.
Due to a full lap on the All-Weather being a mile-and-a-quarter, there are no 10 furlong races at Southwell, with the options of dropping horses back to a mile or going up to a mile and three furlongs (11 furlongs). In 2021 Southwell changed artificial surfaces from Fibresand to Tapeta, which is a mixture of sand, wax and fibre.
One of the advantages of Tapeta is its resilience to extreme weather conditions and general consistency. This is a bonus considering the history of wet weather at this course and makes our job of picking tips for Southwell today somewhat easier.
Key Southwell Races Fixtures
With two tracks, including one all-weather and floodlights for evening racing, there is no shortage of horse racing fixtures. That means you’re never far away from our next set of horse racing tips for Southwell.
Whether you fancy a bit of jumping or a Flat race, there is a race day for you at one of Britain’s busiest racecourses. In total, there are 79 separate meetings on the schedule for 2025, starting on 1 January and ending on 28 December.
With so much racing taking place at Southwell, many local punters opt for a membership to the course. This provides them with race passes and many other benefits. There are 16 jumps meetings and 63 on the Flat, which means that you get a range of different racing predictions from our Southwell tips today.
The sheer number of meetings sees the organisers at Southwell get creative when it comes to attracting race goers.
As well as the normal Family Fun Days and Ladies Days that are somewhat ubiquitous at courses across the country, there is a Country and Western Raceday, a Sausage and Cider Festival Raceday, a Dog Friendly Raceday, Gents Evening, Halloween Racenight and Festive Raceday.
When it comes to the biggest racing events, the New Year’s Day races over jumps and the Winter Derby on All-Weather in February are the highlights. Generally our Southwell racing tips today consist of low-grade National Hunt and ordinary AW action.
The Biggest Races We Give Southwell Tips On
Among the many races for which we give Southwell horse racing tips, there are a few that stand out. Let’s take a look at the jewels in Southwell’s crown.
Winter Derby
The most prestigious race held at Southwell Racecourse is the Winter Derby. This Group 3 All-Weather Flat race, is one of the few on artificial surfaces to have such status.
It moved from Lingfield in 2024, with the distance increased by a furlong. This is a £100,000 race and the winner Military Order received £56,700 for the inaugural running at Southwell.
He was the 9/4 second-favourite and among the most common Southwell race tips. The Winter Derby has seen some famous winners, including legendary jockey Frankie Dettori who has a record four victories.
New Year’s Day Handicap Hurdle
In 2024, plans began at Southwell to establish a Class 2 handicap hurdle over two miles, that would be worth over £60,000 in total.
It first took place in 2025 as the Jordan Road Surfacing And Recycling Handicap Hurdle with a first prize of £39,000.
The inaugural winner was Alnilam, returned at odds of 9/2 and a popular choice among those giving Southwell racing tips.
Hever Sprint Stakes
This is a Listed 5f sprint on the All-Weather taking place in February during the Winter Derby fixture. That means that the 2024 running was the first at Southwell, with this £55,000 race having a first prize of £31,600. Another 9/4 shot in Diligent Harry was the first Southwell winner.
FAQs
Is Southwell races on today?
Take a look at our Racecards section to see if racing at Southwell is on the schedule. If it is, then you will find Southwell race tips today and can access a wealth of other useful information about the races.
Where is Southwell Racecourse?
The racecourse at Southwell is actually two miles outside of the town in the village of Rolleston. You can find Rolleston Station nearby and there is a bus service from Nottingham to Southwell seven days a week.
What happened at Southwell races today?
If there are Southwell races today results can be found in Racing Tipster’s racing results section. We publish results from every race track in the UK and Ireland.
Why has Southwell races been abandoned?
In the event that Southwell races today are abandoned, it may well be down to the rain. Flooding has been a persistent issue and disrupted Southwell betting tips before, most recently in 2023.
Where can I find tips and Southwell races results today?
If there are Southwell races today tips and results can be found right here at Racing Tipster. Our Southwell races tips are available either in Today’s or Tomorrow’s Tips sections. We also have a dedicated results service.
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