Newmarket and Nottingham cards meet with approval
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Thu 25 Jun 2026
Mid-morning start times at Newmarket and Nottingham were well received on Thursday as the sport continues to guard against the prevailing heatwave.
Carlisle was the only surviving meeting in Britain on Wednesday after fixtures at Worcester, Salisbury, Kempton Park and Ffos Las were called off in the interests of welfare for horses and participants.
And while there was a full programme the following day, the action on the July course and at Colwick Park was brought forward to avoid racing when temperatures were at their highest, with Newmarket’s first race scheduled for 10.45am and Nottingham getting under way at 10.30am.
A horse is washed down at Newmarket (David Davies/PA)
Speaking before racing, Newmarket’s clerk of the course Andrew Morris told Racing TV: “It’s been quite an interesting week for the whole industry across the country really. Obviously the race times are incredibly early, so we should get through before we hit the peak heat for the day.
“The main changes people will see on course today is that the pre-parade ring is going to be used instead of the parade ring. We’re incredibly blessed that the pre-parade ring is completely tree lined and is an incredibly cool area, so the horses will remain in there before the race and we’ll ask the jockeys to go there to mount.
“We’ve got additional water supplies at every point, we’ve got some lovely misting fans and extra staff, so we’ve done everything we can to ensure welfare is the priority, as it always is.
“I think for Newmarket our forecast has always been fairly consistent through the week, which was that today we’d see about 32C. I think one of the things is the strength of the sun at the moment and we’ve got a couple of areas on course that are sun traps, including the winner’s enclosure and the parade ring – there’s absolutely no cover in those areas.
“Even though the maximum temperature might only be 32C, it certainly feels hotter than that temperature.”
Ice added to the water troughs in the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket (David Davies/PA)
Appropriately, there was a dead-heat in the feature race of the afternoon, with Hugo Palmer’s Glorious Game (7-4 favourite) and the James Tate-trained Havana Sprite (100-30) sharing the spoils in the Empress Fillies’ Stakes.
Tate said: “It was a bit weird this morning as we got all the horses out (on the gallops) and usually you would then sit down and do the entries and planning but instead we all went off to the races.
“There’s plenty of shade on the July course and lots of water for the horses.
“It was a little bit strange but good fun, everyone seemed in great spirits and enjoyed it.”
South African trainer Dylan Cunha was out of luck with his one runner on the card, but feels there is no issue with racing continuing in the heat.
“We’re pulling out an hour earlier in a morning, but I find the horses don’t mind the heat,” he said.
“I’ve trained in South Africa in hotter than this and I find our horses are not worried at all. They’re eating well, they look well, they’re fresh. It’s the staff that struggle, so we’re pulling out earlier more for the staff than the horses.”
There was a winner for the King and Queen at Nottingham, with Ralph Beckett’s Food For Thought (7-4) carrying the royal silks to victory in the opening race.
The last of six races at the track took place at 1pm and was won by Beerwah (11-4), trained by the father and son team of John and Sean Quinn.
There will again be earlier start times on Friday, with Doncaster starting at 10.15am and Yarmouth’s first race due off at 10.30am, while the second day of Newmarket’s meeting kicks off later at 4.45pm.
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