Great Yarmouth Racecourse

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Welcome to our official guide to Great Yarmouth Racecourse.

We explore this busy and popular seaside flat racecourse in detail, looking at its history, hotel picks, fixtures, travel information and betting guides.

If you are looking for the latest betting tips for Great Yarmouth, check out our full guide to Yarmouth Racecourse tips.

Find out more about Great Yarmouth Racecourse:

Great Yarmouth Racecourse

Overview of Yarmouth Racecourse

Situated just a mile north of one of Britain’s favourite seaside towns, Great Yarmouth Racecourse is attended by horse racing fans, locals and tourists alike for races and other events all year round.

It’s often known as just ‘Yarmouth Races’, or even ‘Yarco Races’ by those in the local area.

Great Yarmouth Racecourse boasts a racing calendar of over 23 race meets a year, primarily in the summer when the town is full of tourists and sun-seekers.

A flat track, galloping in nature and best suited to long-striding horses, it is shaped like a narrow oblong approximately one mile and five furlongs in length, each long straight measuring about five furlongs. It is left-handed and has an extension chute to allow straight races of up to a mile to be run here.

The track is almost entirely flat, but there are references online to some inclines – these have, however, been levelled out in recent years.

Just over an hour’s drive from the training and racing town of Newmarket, it’s no surprise that Great Yarmouth Racecourse attracts some top talent and big names, even though it’s far from Britain’s largest or busiest course.

The course’s location gives holidaymakers the ideal excuse to combine a day at the races with their Great British beach holiday, and several holiday parks around Norfolk offer shuttle bus services to the course on race days.

Great Yarmouth Racecourse has worked hard to integrate well and serve its local community as well as those in the horseracing industry. As a result, the North Denes venue is used for a range of events year-round and even hosts family fun days and race days that are free to attend for local residents.

It also has strong links with other tourist attractions in the area, including Great Yarmouth Greyhound Racing Track and the historic Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.

It’s also a great employer of seasonal staff within the local community.

The nearest racecourse to Great Yarmouth is Fakenham, but it tends to attract more quality talent than its neighbour – primarily due to the amount of Newmarket trainers who send their horses here.

Yarmouth Racecourse History

Racing in Great Yarmouth can be recorded as far back as 1715 when local authorities granted a license to a group of local innkeepers to host racing on an empty field nearby. Records from these times (and some dating further back for unlicensed events) suggest that racing coincided with the Great Yarmouth town fair held annually, and included novelty events such as pig racing and donkey racing.

In 1810, records show thoroughbred horseracing began with listed events at a course in South Denes, which gained popularity as the years went on and the prize money grew.

In 1920, after racings suspension due to World War I, the sport resumed across the road in the North Denes site it sits at now.

The local fishing industry needed more room for expansion in the South Denes area, so the grandstands were dismantled relocated to the new North Denes site.

The course was owned by local authorities for many years, but in 2001, Great Yarmouth Racecourse was sold to Northern Racing, and in 2012 merged with Arena Racing Company, which continue to manage the course to this day.

The Main Races and Events At Yarmouth Racecourse

Great Yarmouth Racecourse isn’t known for its high levels of prize money, but it often attracts talent higher than you’d expected for little funds.

Its most valuable race is the John Musker Fillies Stakes, run in September each year over a mile, two furlongs and twenty-three yards. The total purse here is just £50,000, but Frankie Dettori has won here twice and sponsorship deals are hotly contested!

The current sponsor of the John Musker Fillies Stakes is EBF Stallions.

Yarmouth Racecourse Map

Below is a map of Yarmouth Racecourse:

Yarmouth Racecourse Map

It is a narrow, left-handed track that is oval in nature.

It has a run-in of 5 furlongs and is 13 furlongs around.

There is a straight mile course, where races up to this distance run. Apart from a slight decline just before the run-in, the racecourse is flat.

Yarmouth Racecourse Address

The official address of Yarmouth Racecourse is:

Great Yarmouth Racecourse
Jellicoe Road
Great Yarmouth
Norfolk
NR30 4AU

How To Get To Great Yarmouth Racecourse

The ways to get to Yarmouth Racecourse are:

  • By foot – Great Yarmouth Racecourse is within walking distance from Great Yarmouth town centre, but buses and taxis run regularly from the centre on big event days.
  • By rail – Great Yarmouth rail station is also a mile from the course, so easy walking distance away, and is served up to every half an hour from Norwich and every hour from London Liverpool Street. Buses and coaches serve Great Yarmouth from Norwich, Peterborough and London Victoria, but services vary and should be checked in advance.
  • By road – a short drive from the centre, details for your sat nav are Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 4AU
  • By air – Helicopters may land at Great Yarmouth Racecourse when arranged in advance, and for other light aircraft, nearby airfields can be used. Staff at the course are able to advise further.

Hotels Near Great Yarmouth Racecourse

Great Yarmouth is very much still a tourist destination, so there’s plenty of accommodation options within walking distance of the course.

There are a couple of Premier Inns, but most hotels in the area are independent and/or B&Bs.

There are also lots of holiday parks around, including fully-functioning all-inclusive resorts, glamping sites and caravan and camping facilities. Google in advance for details, and book ahead for the busy summer months.

More hotels are available in Norwich, about an hour away by car.

Betting Shops Local to Great Yarmouth Racecourse

There are several places to bet at Great Yarmouth Racecourse: with the independent bookies at the side of the track, Tote betting facilities in the grandstand, and roving service in hospitality suites.

Mobile signal is fine here, but there’s free Wi-Fi too should you wish to bet online or via betting apps.

Great Yarmouth town centre and surrounding residential neighbourhoods have branches of Ladbrokes racing, Paddy Power racing, Betfred racing and Coral racing – and, seasonally, some seaside independent bookmakers within amusement arcades along the seafront.

Yarmouth Betting Odds

Here are the latest betting odds:

These odds have not yet been released.

Best Yarmouth Races Betting Sites

At British Racecourses we often recommend betting online and via apps. This is because you can often get the best odds, great offers when signing up and you can place bets quickly and safely without having to queue.

If you are looking to bet online we recommend the following great deals with some amazing offers for new customers on this page.

All the above made the list of best betting sites, they all have live horse racing streaming, lots of bet payment methods, BOG and a host of other perks.

Other Events Held at Yarmouth Racecourse

Given its location, it is no surprise that Great Yarmouth Racecourse is home to more events than just horseracing.

Indeed, locals and tourists alike flock to the course for numerous different events throughout the year, including assorted conferences, business meetings, occasions and weddings, as well as Comicon exhibitions, themed markets and live music gigs.

Yarco Races

Great Yarmouth Races 2024

Here is the horse racing calendar for Great Yarmouth Races in 2024:

DateRacecourseWeekday
13/4/2024YarmouthSaturday
23/4/2024YarmouthTuesday
30/4/2024YarmouthTuesday
4/5/2024YarmouthSaturday
22/5/2024YarmouthWednesday
27/5/2024YarmouthMonday
12/6/2024YarmouthWednesday
13/6/2024YarmouthThursday
28/6/2024YarmouthFriday
4/7/2024YarmouthThursday
10/7/2024YarmouthWednesday
17/7/2024YarmouthWednesday
25/7/2024YarmouthThursday
30/7/2024YarmouthTuesday
7/8/2024YarmouthWednesday
8/8/2024YarmouthThursday
19/8/2024YarmouthMonday
25/8/2024YarmouthSunday
17/9/2024YarmouthTuesday
18/9/2024YarmouthWednesday
19/9/2024YarmouthThursday
7/10/2024YarmouthMonday
15/10/2024YarmouthTuesday
22/10/2024YarmouthTuesday

Check out our guide for the full list of UK horse racing calendar fixtures for 2024.

Great Yarmouth Racecard

The racecards for Great Yarmouth races will be released the day before the races are set to happen. You can view full racecards in advance, check out  – horse racing cards tomorrow and horse racing cards today. In these, you will get an advance look at all the runners, trainers, form and riders.

You can also of course purchase a racecard from the track which carries much of the same useful information. Many like to keep these as souvenirs, especially from major horse racing events.

Popular Questions

✅What is the address of Yarmouth Races?

The address of Yarmouth Races is:

Great Yarmouth Racecourse
Jellicoe Road
Great Yarmouth
NR30 4AU

✅How do you get to Yarmouth Racecourse?

The ways to get to Yarmouth Racecousre are:

  • By foot – Great Yarmouth Racecourse is walking distance from Great Yarmouth town centre, but buses and taxis run regularly from the centre on big event days.
  • By rail – Great Yarmouth rail station is also a mile from the course, so easy walking distance away, and is served up to every half an hour from Norwich and every hour from London Liverpool Street. Buses and coaches serve Great Yarmouth from Norwich, Peterborough and London Victoria, but services vary and should be checked in advance.
  • By air – Helicopters may land at Great Yarmouth Racecourse when arranged in advance, and for other light aircraft, nearby airfields can be used. Staff at the course are able to advise further.

✅What channel is Yarmouth racing?

Yarmouth racing is on Sky Sports and Sky Sports Racing.

Summary of Great Yarmouth Racecourse

A great, fun and family-friendly seaside course, Yarmouth races is a great day out.

Whilst it may not be blessed with many “big races” some impressive horses have started their careers at this course with it being so close to the home of racing; Newmarket.

It offers great value for money and The Lord Nelson Grandstand is a lovely place to spend an afternoon watching the action on the track.

With a fair straight one mile course, it is something of a hidden gem of a course and is a key part of the local community year-round.

Certainly worth a visit – why not combine it with a few days at the seaside as well? Perfect!

Other Racecourses in the UK and Ireland

Our team as of March 2024 have reviewed these racecourses that are also worth a visit:

Check out out horse racing courses UK guides for more information.