Our columnist on the 2026 fixture list and why less is definitely more when it comes to Premier Racedays.
Ah. The Premier Racedays.
'The what?', I hear you ask. But you do know, the ones with the old Premier League logo next to them on our racecard index? You do know them, honestly you do.
And you will. But the problem is the wider sporting public don’t.
What started out in 2023 as a bid to bolster and showcase our biggest meetings is changing after that two-year trial came to an end. And it’s for the better.
I don’t know who we thought we were kidding when 170 were designated as being Premier events the first year and 162 for 2024. Now it’s down to 52. It could be trimmed further.
But for all the ridicule the concept seems to have garnered over the years, at its heart is a noble ambition. We need our biggest days to sing, to shine, to break out of our own little bubble.
If you ask people in the street to name the major events in the golf, cricket and rugby calendars, they’d be able to throw something your way.
Ask about horse racing and depending on the age demographic I bet you wouldn’t get much beyond Royal Ascot, Cheltenham and the Grand National.
The idea of Premier Racedays was for the other big meetings to matter too. To let people know, as they scanned the newspapers or scrolled on their phones, that something significant was happening in the world of horse racing that afternoon at Sandown, Haydock, York or Goodwood.
