Kempton Park Racecourse

Welcome to our official guide to Kempton Park Racecourse.

We explore this great jump and all-weather flat racing racecourse in detail, looking at its rich and long history, a guide to both of the tracks, hotel picks, fixtures, travel information, and betting guides.

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

The day is their Boxing Day meeting which is watched across the country every year.

Find out more about Kempton Park Racecourse:

Overview of Kempton Racecourse

Kempton Park lies just 16 miles from central London. This proximity to the capital along with its picturesque setting of grassland, woodland and two beautiful lakes, makes Kempton a well-attended and well-enjoyed venue by many.

Kempton Park Racecourse hosts both National Hunt jump racing and flat all-weather racing across two tracks.

The jumps course is a triangular track of one mile five furlongs, with a 220-yard run-in. It hosts many great meetings throughout the year with the biggest its fantastic Boxing Day racing event.

The flat all-weather racing takes place on a fairly new track (constructed in 2006) that is right-handed and measures eight or ten furlongs, depending on the race and whether the inner or outer curve is used. The all-weather course is floodlit and surfaced with Polytrack, which can only be found on two other British racecourses – Chelmsford City and Lingfield Park.

Kempton is widely considered one of the best-designed courses in the UK.

Despite this, the Jockey Club (the current owners of the site) announced back in 2017 that Kempton was due to close by 2021 and as such, would cease to be used for horseracing. The company intended to sell the site to property developers for homebuilding and confirmed that any profit made from the sale (estimated to be about £100m) would be put into the Jockey Club’s planned £500m investment programme, to be spent on projects such as the development of Sandown Park Racecourse and a new all-weather track to be installed at Newmarket. The local council of Kempton were not supportive of the plans initially, and racing fans and firms rallied to lodge petitions and crowdfund their opposition support. All seems to have gone quiet on the closure front for now, but it seems certain that a public decision and declaration will be made soon – not least because it’s due to close by the end of next year!

Kempton Park Racecourse History

Kempton Park Racecourse was born from an idea by investor Samuel H Hyde who stumbled upon Kempton Park and Manor in 1872 and saw it was for sale.

Some six years later, he had leased the grounds and built the racecourse.

The site is noted in the Domesday Book along with the manor, although today, no buildings of the house still exist (although there are some Victorian gateposts still in place).

In 1889, the course was notified that the Prince of Wales would be attending some upcoming races. In just 21 days, Kempton Park constructed a fully functioning Royal Box – a timeframe still considered impressive today!

Kempton was an invaluable resource to the British forces during World War I, being requisitioned for the war effort and used as a transport depot for military vehicles. As a result, the ground was not left suitable for racing to resume immediately after the war, so races continued while it was fixed at Gatwick, Hurst Park and Sandown.

Since then, Kempton has continued to flourish and remains an important venue in British horseracing.

The current grandstand was completed in 1997, and the all-weather track installed in 2006.

Main Races and Events at Kempton

Many people query, ‘What’s on at Kempton Park racecourse?’ when the big time period of races is finally approaching.

Kempton Park has a jam-packed schedule annually, but there are three standout races that attract more attention and attendees than others – and all are around the Christmas period.

The King George IV steeplechase is a National Hunt race held every Boxing Day (and famously won by Kauto Star on multiple occasions, as well as Desert Orchid), it is a Grade 1 event run over three miles and eighteen fences. The King George vi Chase is one of the most prestigious in the national hunt calendar.

The same day sees the Kauto Star Novices Chase run, a race that was the first Grade 1 race to be won by a female jockey in the UK, when Lizzie Kelly took home first place with horse Tea For Two it is always one of the hottest novices chases of the whole year and also the top hurdle race, the Kempton Christmas Hurdle.

The third most popular event at Kempton is held on the 27^th of December, the Desert Orchid Chase, a Grade 2 race run over two miles and twelve jumps.

Other main jumps races at Kempton include:

• Wayward Lad Novices Chase
• Silviniaco Conti Chase
• Adonis Juvenile Hurdle
• Pendil Novices’ Chase
• Dovecote Novices Hurdle

Main flat races at Kempton:

• Road To The Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes
• Magnolia Stakes
• Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes
• Rosebery Stakes
• September Stakes
• Sirenia Stakes
• Floodlit Stakes
• Hyde Stakes
• Wild Flower Stakes

Kempton Racecourse Tickets

Kempton Park racecourse tickets are always very popular for all of their meetings. You’ll find great offers, deals and early birds to all of their events – whether standard tickets or for private boxes – throughout the year and we always recommend booking in advance so you get to enjoy the day out and can plan ahead.

As racing at Kempton Park is so popular the events can sell out, so it is best to book early and in advance to avoid disappointment.

If you are looking for the best deals on Kempton Park Racecourse Tickets follow the official link here.

Kempton Racecourse Map

Below are the Kempton Racecourse maps.

Kempton Racecourse Jumps Track

Below is a map of Kempton’s jumps course.

Kempton chase and hurdle course are right-handed, triangular and flat.

It is a fair course and suits most horses.

The fences are known to be relatively easy fences.

Although the bends are tight it can suit galloping types as well as the more speedy horses.

Kempton All Weather Track

Below is a map of Kempton’s AW track:

Kempton’s all-weather flat racing track is Polytrack.

It is a flat, oval-shaped track with two loops.

The inner track is used for races over five, nine and ten furlongs and it has two furlongs home straight – this tends to suit more handy types.

The home bend on the outer course is more sweeping and the straight is longer – almost three furlongs.

Over both five and six-furlong races, there is a relatively short run to the first bend.

Kempton Park Racecourse Address

The official address of Kempton Park Racecourse is:

Kempton Park Racecourse
Staines Road East
Shepperton
Sunbury-on-Thames
TW16 5AQ

How To Get To Kempton Park

The way to get to Kempton Park races are:

• Car – can be found on the A308 between Sunbury-on-Thames and Hampton Court, less than a mile from Junction 1 of the M3. Limited free parking is available but once it fills, you can expect to pay around £5 for a space. The info for your sat nav is Staines Road, East Middlesex, TW16  5AQ
• Train – the easiest way to get to Kempton Park Racecourse is by train because the course has an on-site railway station! Kempton Park Station is 200yds from the course’s north entrance, and trains run every half hour from London Waterloo.
• Bus – coaches and shuttle buses run from the nearby BP site, 10 minutes away, on major event days.

Hotels Near Kempton Park Racecourse

Most racegoers choose to stay in London when attending Kempton Park but if you’d prefer to be closer to the action, there are still options available.

Nearby Sunbury-on-Thames is home to the budget M3-side Travelodge Sunbury (rooms from £19!), the town centre has the Premier Inn Sunbury and also the reasonable home-style Aidos Heathcroft House.

Best Kempton Betting Sites

At British Racecourses, we often recommend betting online and via apps. If you are looking for the best betting apps we have reviewed all the top ones on the market today in our full guides, plus you can find a full UK betting sites list where we analyse a whole range of the new, established and up and coming bookies. 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.

For more information on the factors, we took into consideration with these and how we compared betting sites check out that page where we look at the best betting sites around.

Betting Shops Local to Kempton Park

Independent bookies can be found down by the track, and there are standard betting kiosks and Tote facilities available in all enclosures at Kempton for those who love a Placepot, Quadpot, Tote Jackpot and Trifecta.

Nearby Sunbury-on-Thames itself isn’t big enough to warrant many bookmakers in the town centre, but you will find a branch your nearest William Hill and a Ladbrokes bookies here.

Surrounding residential areas also have some local betting shops, including a Coral bookies, another William Hill betting shop and a Bet 2 Net.

Kempton Races 2024

Here is the horse racing calendar for Kempton Races in 2024:

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

Kempton Racecard

The racecards for Kempton races will be released the day before the races are set to happen. You can view full racecards in advance, check out  – horse racing tomorrow and horse racing 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 UK horse races.

Kempton Park (UK) Race Results

The latest results for Kemptown Park (United Kingdom) can be found on Racing TV or Sky Sports Racing.

You can find historical race results on other dates from Kempton Park (UK) horse racing using the Racing Post app.

Other Events Held at The Track

Racing takes place at Kempton Park Racecourse almost every month of the year, but there are lots of other things going on at the course too.

A local produce market is held weekly, as well as bi-weekly antiques fair and seasonal occurrences of wedding fairs and other exhibitions.

The conferencing and exhibition centre at Kempton is licensed and often fully booked as it’s considered a great ‘get-away’ from London for business purposes.

Kempton Park Racecourse Summary

Kempton Park is one of the busiest racecourses in the UK with all-weather racing taking place all year round.

However, Kempton will always be most well-known for its national hunt and particularly as the home of the King George VI Chase held every year on Boxing Day – a race won by racing legends such as Kauto Star and Desert Orchid.

Kempton is a splendid course, 16 miles outside London, with a great atmosphere and customer service. It is owned by The Jockey Club.

Whether you are attending for jumps or flat, you are assured of a great day out.