Ripon Racecourse is one of the most attractive venues in the British racing calendar. It is beloved up and down the country, not just by locals, and attracts racing fans for summer meets. It’s a venue that is packed with tradition, local pride and excitement. Yorkshire’s training community has been at the heart of the race meetings that have delighted fans for years, and their methods and connections have shaped the competitive history of Ripon.
Racing in the UK
In 2025, total British horse racing attendance reached over 5 million for the first time in five years. It’s clear the passion for racing in Yorkshire isn’t confined to the region but the proximity of seven tracks within the county ensures a high visibility for the sport not readily replicated in any other county, except perhaps Gloucestershire.
Handicaps sit alongside maiden races to create a diverse racing programme at Ripon.
This popularity has meant that fans now engage with the sport across several different mediums. Horse racing culture has, of course, expanded into the digital world with online betting but now also through interactive online casino UK experiences. Enthusiasts can play sports and horse racing-inspired slot and bingo games which come with traditional gaming features and but also equine features too that give gamers the chance to get free spins or other bonuses. Crossovers like these show how the enthusiasm for the sport has crossed over into broader entertainment. Gamification of racing is good for the sport, bringing it back into the mainstream.
Training Greats & Ripon Success Stories
Back on the track, in Yorkshire, there exists a long line of local trainers with lasting legacies. Tim Easterby comes to mind for anyone knowledgeable in racing in the area, having trained more than 70 winners in recent seasons. Easterby’s success follows on the back of a family tradition that has stretched back for decades. His father, Peter, was one of the country’s most respected trainers, with over 1,000 winners and a legacy that still influences flat and jump racing today.
David O’Meara is another name synonymous with success in the area. He has had multiple wins at Ripon in both sprints and handicaps. Malton-based Richard Fahey, had a notable success in Ripon’s Champion Two-Year-Old Trophy. Training stables across Yorkshire consistently prepare horses for Ripon’s track, and it is no wonder that these names have had such success over the years.
Memorable Horses
Ripon has a unique atmosphere that defines what racegoers have come to expect when they attend. Part of that is down to the community feel and the close relationship between trainers and their local area. They attend local events and work with local owners to contribute to Yorkshire racing.
However, it is also down to horses that have managed to capture the imagination, such as Staxton and Pepper. Both won Ripon’s headline sprint handicap, the Great St Wilfrid Stakes, and became fan favourites because of their speed over the Yorkshire turf.
More recently, Mark’s Choice clocked his ninth course victory last autumn for Gemma Tutty – a sprinter who just doesn’t know how to run a bad race.
Alongside seasoned handicappers like Mark’s Choice, spectators live in hope of spotting a smart juvenile who may go on to grand events like last weekend’s Saudi Cup in Riyadh. The $20m race is the richest-endowed in the world, and whilst dirt racing tends to draw more US, Australian and Japanese runners than British & Irish, it’s nevertheless a destination event. But for champions like Forever Young, it all starts at modest tracks like Ripon.
As racing evolves and new fans interact with the sport at the track and in the digital world, the legacy of local legends will live on. They paved the way for what came after them, whether it was through passion or performance, and continue to influence the current day and what makes racing in Yorkshire so great.
