If there’s one racing fixture to mark in the 2019 calendar, odds-on favourite it’ll be the Grand National (a National Hunt horse race without any hunting) held at the Aintree Racecourse.
It’s the royalty of horse racing – and, with prizes totalling over £1 million, has the richest winnings.
Becher’s Brook, The Chair and Canal Turn are among its obstacles – among the biggest in horse racing. At just over 4 miles long, the two-lap course tests the skills and stamina of horse and rider like no other. Thirty-two, pined-topped fences and a smattering of water jumps line up to confound the challengers whose names range from cartoon-like (Mr Frisk and Dick Saunders) to the grandiose (Lutteur III and Poethlyn). Some participants find the going too tough – in one year, only two horses made it to the finish.
And we’ll wager that you’ll like Liverpool too, where Aintree is located. If you haven’t visited the city, it’s a feast of urban culture and nightlife bordering its mighty river.
Date: 6 April
This British annual clash of racing Titans takes place at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire. Drivers behind the steering wheels of their F1 cars put pedal to the metal, clocking up an average 145 mph. Anyone who has been at the track side at this race knows just how loud these 1,000+horsepower racing demons roar.
Senna, Schumacher, Senna, Lauder and Hamilton are just some of the flesh-and-blood stars to have thrilled British Grand Prix racegoers. Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Mercedes are its famous teams.
Date: 12-14 July
This posh rowing event has much in common with the Ascot races in that it’s part of a posh social calendar. It’s not just a sporting event but a strict dress code party and a chance to wear formal jackets, summer hats and hemlines below the knee.
Competitions in the 5-day event are head-to-head knock-outs raced over 1 mile. Its highlight is the Grand Challenge Cup for Men’s Eights – the jewel in the crown since the Regatta started. The competition regularly attracts leading international race crews.
Its founders claimed: “The establishing of an annual regatta, under judicious and respectable management, would not only be productive of the most beneficial results to the town of Henley, but from its peculiar attractions would also be a source of amusement and gratification to the neighbourhood, and the public in general.” The public it now attracts live everywhere from Dehli to Dallas.
Date: 3-7 July
Strawberries, cream, occasional tantrums and blindingly good play… it’s all at the world’s leading tennis tournament.
It’s one of the globe’s main sporting events where the women’s games and men’s games have long been equally anticipated. And the doubles set the matches alight too.
It’s the outdoor lawn tournament. Wimbledon is one of the world’s 4 grand slams (Australian Open, French Open and US Open being the others). It was founded in 1877, a year after lawn tennis was invented by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield. Yes, that was his name.
Fast forward to July 2019 and the world’s media will again gaze upon Wimbledon’s Centre Court. A ticket to Wimbledon is a ticket to one of the world’s truly great sporting moments.
Date: 1-14 July
If your travel plans include the sound of a leather ball hitting a willow bat, pop Ashes Cricket on your itinerary: it’s the top cricketing event of 2019.
The Ashes is the annual Test series in which England and Australia slug it out for cricketing glory. Whichever team wins the Test gets the Ashes, and if there’s a draw the current holder retains the prize. There are no cremated remains inside the winner’s cup – that’s a nineteenth century joke. In more up-to-date humour, the Ashes made an appearance in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, stolen by alien robots.
But there’s nothing mechanical about the Test series, apart from that it’s always hosted in in turn by England and Australia at least once every two years. In 2019, it’s England’s turn.
Dates
First Test 1-5 August Edgbaston Cricket Ground (Birmingham)
Second Test 14-18 August Lord’s Cricket Ground (London)
Third Test 22-26 August Headingley (Leeds)
Fourth Test 4-8 September Old Trafford (Manchester)
