Brighton Horse Racing Tips

Brighton Racecourse

Brighton is a flat racing track just a mile north east of the centre of the town on the Sussex coast. It is easily reachable from the A23 via the A27 Brighton bypass. Follow signs towards Sussex University before turning off at the B2123 to Woodingdean. Turn right at the traffic lights and you will find the racecourse is one mile on your left.

Brighton Railway Station is only 1 hour from London with regular services from London Victoria, Kings Cross and London Bridge. There are also frequent trains from Eastbourne, Lewes, Hastings, Worthing and Portsmouth.

Brighton Horse Racing Tips

The racecourse is situated 400 feet above sea level on Whitehawk Hill on the edge of the South Downs. It is a sharp, left handed horseshoe shaped track of about a mile and a half with a run-in of four furlongs. The run downhill into the straight is the sharpest decline in the country before the runners face an uphill climb to the finishing post. Rather like Epsom, there is a camber towards the far rail so horses do tend to hang to their left.

The course suits the sharper front-running types rather than long striding horses. Previous course form is a positive when assessing your Brighton betting tips. It is an advantage to be drawn high in races up to a mile when the going rides soft. The stands side is thought to be a bit faster and jockeys tend to head over to the rail.

Brighton Horse Racing History

The earliest recorded horse racing in the Brighton area took place at Hangleton to the west of the town. The first official race meeting was organised by The Duke of Cumberland in 1783. The main meeting was held in July or August at the same time as the local Whitehawk Fair.

Brighton used to extend across the Downs to Roedean, forming a loop which made it possible to run long distance races. It is believed that George IV, the Prince of Wales as he was then, and some of his aristocratic friends hurdled their horses over sheep pens here. Hurdling took place at the track in the early 1830’s until 1889.

The first grandstand was built here in 1788 but lasted only eight years before being destroyed by fire. There was further disruption at Brighton racecourse in 1805 following a dispute with the farmer who leased the land. He was narrowly prevented from ploughing up the course and racing continued.

The arrival of the railway in Brighton opened up the course to Londoners in the 1850’s and the racecourse began to thrive. It formed part of a Sussex fortnight in the summer between Glorious Goodwood and the now defunct Lewes meeting. Brighton was the venue for a Derby trial in the 1960’s and a further grandstand was erected in 1965.

Brighton suffered a gradual decline from the mid-twentieth century as seaside holidays became less popular with the British public. The racecourse was acquired by Northern Racing in 1998 who invested £4million in refurbishment. Northern Racing merged with Arena Racing in 2012 and Brighton is now one of sixteen tracks run by the Arena Racing Company.

Brighton Races

Brighton currently hosts 18 days’ racing per year from April through to October. It still stages a 3-day summer festival in early August where the feature event is the Brighton Mile Challenge Trophy. It is a handicap for three-year-olds and upwards and attracts plenty of Brighton racing tips. It is also a popular venue for various conferences and exhibitions throughout the summer.

The Brighton Gold Cup used to be a prestigious race here and was won by Rockingham for three successive seasons between 1834 and 1836. He had won the St Leger and the Doncaster Cup in 1833.

Sheikh Mohammed had his first winner in the UK when Hatta won at Brighton on 20th June 1977. The two-year-old filly was trained by the late John Dunlop and won the Bevendene Maiden Stakes and prize money of less than £1,000. The Sheikh would go to become a leading figure in British horse racing through his Godolphin and Darley Stud operation in Newmarket. The famous blue colours of Godolphin still have runners here, particularly in maiden races.

Disaster struck at Brighton in 1981 when 24-year-old jockey Joe Blanks died from his injuries. He fell from Sleigh Queen at the July meeting and was trampled by the following runners. American jockey Steve Cauthen rode his 1,000th winner in Britain aboard Picnicing at Brighton on 5th August 1987.

Brighton has a strong association with the Moore racing dynasty. Ryan Moore’s grandfather, Charlie Moore, trained from Ingleside Stables near to the one-mile start at the racecourse. He trained over 90 winners for local businessman Ken Higson before his retirement in 1997. His son, Gary, took over the running of the stable and is among the leading trainers here. Three times champion jockey Ryan is brother to National Hunt jockeys Jamie and Joshua and top amateur Hayley. As a successful local jockey, the booking of Ryan Moore is one to note in Brighton betting tips.

One of the most popular performers at Brighton in recent seasons has been Roy Rocket. The grey is trained by John Berry at Newmarket and recorded his eighth Brighton victory in July 2018. It was his 21st visit to the seaside course and he was bred by his trainer who remains a part-owner. Punters have taken Roy Rocket to their hearts and he was very popular among Brighton tips as the 6-5 favourite. Such is his popularity, he even has his own twitter account and was the subject of a special feature on attheraces.

Brighton Betting Tips

Gary Moore tops the training statistics numerically and in terms of prize money won over the past three seasons. Tony Carroll and Richard Hannon Jnr are his nearest pursuers. The latter has produced a strike rate of 21% and a level stakes profit over the same period. John Gallagher has also left his followers in profit with a strike rate of 17%.

Jockeys Adam Kirby and Pat Cosgrave feature among our best horse racing tips for Brighton today. Kirby returns an impressive 29% strike rate and Cosgrave a respectable 23%.