NEWMARKET JULY COURSE
Newmarket July Racecourse
Course: Newmarket July Racecourse - July Cup
🎫 Ticket & value: £167pp Champions Lawn Enclosure
👀 Track view: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍔 Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🍺 Guinness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭕️ Parade Ring: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🏇 Runners and riders: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎉 Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👍🏻 Best for: Parade Ring & Atmosphere ⭕️🎉
Newmarket’s July Course is one of British racing’s most picturesque and iconic tracks, famed for its tree-lined avenues, summer garden party feel, and top-class action on the turf. The Champions Lawn enclosure elevates this to another level, offering a calm, luxurious raceday experience that feels worlds apart from the bustle of the grandstands. With its exclusive atmosphere, beautiful surroundings, and impeccable service, it’s an experience that will linger in the memory long after the final race.
The track viewing from Champions Lawn is exceptional. Positioned at the one-furlong marker, it provides superb rail access that showcases the power and speed of the horses as they drive towards the finish. From the luxury seating area, you can watch the runners canter down to post in comfort, with the huge screen directly in front ensuring you don’t miss a moment of the action elsewhere on the course. The steep climb to the line is striking from this vantage point and really allows racegoers to appreciate the demands of Newmarket’s famous finish. Champions Lawn guests also enjoy access to all enclosures and stands trackside, offering plenty of variety for those who want to explore beyond their private area.
The food in the Champions Lawn was of an excellent standard and added to the sense of occasion. A starter of chalk stream trout pâté served with Wooleys of Arran Oaties was packed with flavour and a great way to kick off the picnic. The main course was a best of British Coronation Chicken Salad. Hand carved chicken breast gently marinated in spices served alongside a fresh quinoa salad, carrot and raisin slaw, mixed leaves and pumpkin seeds —was light, vibrant, and full of depth with the accompaniment of a coronation dressing. A nice little bonus to the main course was the two Scrumpy’s Quails Scotch Eggs. Next up we had a classic British cheese and biscuit selection featuring rich Barbers Cheddar and Cornish Yarg with an apple chutney that added a nice fruity kick to cut through the cheese as well as the sea salt & olive crackers rounding this course together perfectly. A refreshing little mango dessert pot came next before we decided To finish with the quintessentially English scones, Rodda’s wonderful Cornish clotted cream, jam, and a punnet of juicy strawberries captured the spirit of summer perfectly.
The Guinness at £7.50 was served in a premium reusable plastic cup and poured with care, being left to settle properly. One of our group was very pleased with the strong, creamy head and the cool temperature, though another felt the taste didn’t quite match the high standards of the day. Either way 31 degrees on the day perhaps wasn’t peak season for a pint of our favourite black stuff. It’s worth noting that if you wanted a draught Guinness at your seat in the Champions Lawn enclosure you would just have to pop to another bar to grab one or order it from the QR code on the tables.
The pre-parade ring, shaded by a canopy of elegant trees, creates a serene and almost magical atmosphere that both horses and racegoers clearly relish, it was busy but plenty of room with round benches surrounding some of the trees in the middle. Giving the punters a bit of rest bite from the sun, it was very much a relaxed feel before the hustle and bustle pending. This is easily the best pre parade ring we’ve seen so far in our quest for the ultimate racecourse. The Parade Ring at Newmarket’s July Course is one of the most picturesque in British racing and was undoubtedly the star of the show. Beautifully proportioned, with tiered viewing all around, it offers an unrivalled opportunity to see the horses as they prepare for battle. The parade ring is adjacent to the track so on one side you can just turn around and watch the runners canter down to post with the top row giving an aerial feel over the track, this vantage point is a real privilege, and the attention to detail here cements Newmarket’s reputation as the headquarters of racing. The winning enclosure here is also very intimate and tight knit with the backdrop of a beautiful thatched weighing room. The incredible detail was a tiny thatched horse and jockey perched on top of this building.
The runners and riders on the day brought top-class quality to the card. With the Group 1 July Stakes taking centre stage, star jockeys including William Buick, Ryan Moore, Oisin Murphy and Tom Marquand were in action, while trainers Aidan O’Brien, George Boughey, and Dylan Cunha added further prestige to proceedings. Special mention goes to Richard Hughes, who landed his first Group 1 win in the July Stakes with an inspired 66/1 success—an unforgettable moment for connections and spectators alike.
The atmosphere in the Champions Lawn was truly special. Unlike the frenetic energy elsewhere on the course, this space had a calm, relaxed and exclusive feel, offering the perfect environment to enjoy a day’s racing at a more leisurely pace. It’s a unique and highly enjoyable way to experience one of the UK’s premier summer meetings, with all the excitement of world-class flat racing still very much within reach.
Overall, Champions Lawn at Newmarket’s July Course is a fantastic experience that we couldn’t recommend highly enough. The racecourse itself is stunning, with a vibrant energy yet a calming, picturesque charm all in the same breath. At £167 per person, the pricing is certainly on the higher side, but the food, atmosphere, and trackside views are worth every penny. For those looking to enjoy racing in style, it’s an unforgettable day out—and one we would happily return to.
