Kempton Park Racecourse is one of the busiest tracks in the country, with all-weather action throughout the calendar and good-quality jump racing during the winter.
Its close proximity to London, with good rail and road links, means it attracts bumper crowds for its biggest days. Kempton’s premier race is the King George VI Chase, run on Boxing Day. Through the years it’s been won by some of the very best chasers in history, including Arkle, Desert Orchid and five-time winner Kauto Star.
Kempton Park Racecourse also features the country’s only right-handed all-weather track, which stages meetings once or twice a week.
Confirmed races in plain text. Confirmed pattern races in bold text. Unconfirmed races in grey text.
On the whole, Kempton Racecourse always has good ground. It’s very fast and horses from the front tend to win because of how fast the obstacles come at you. You go round a bend and they’re straight there, so up front they’re easier to navigate.
Then you’re up the home straight. There’s a small incline up to the line which rides stiffer than it looks. A well-balanced horse is brilliant here and if you get everything right and it can be a mega track to ride.
For hurdles, winners come from anywhere. You have some time before the home straight but a horse has to have a lot of boot about him to gain those positions and then tuck in before the bend. When you get it right Kempton is phenomenal, but get anything wrong and it can be so hard to claw back.
