Newcastle Tips

Home to the Northumberland Plate, Newcastle Racecourse is located in Gosforth Park, a little over five miles outside of the busy city centre.

It is a popular dual-purpose track that is one of the most best attended in the country due to hosting over 60 race meetings throughout the year.

Newcastle All Weather Track

Newcastle Racecourse is the only floodlit, straight mile, all-weather track in the country. However, it was previously turfed until plans were put forward to change the surface back in 2013 with the first all-weather race taking place in May 2016.

Similar to Chelmsford Racecourse and Wolverhampton Racecourse, the surface is Tepeta which is a mixture of fine silica sand, wax and fibres.

Stamina is usually required at this track due to the final 1.5 furlongs being slightly uphill.

Newcastle Jumps Course

The jumps course is a left-handed, galloping oval with an approximate distance of one and three-quarter miles. It’s a testing course with seven flights of hurdles or ten stiff fences around.

Important Meetings

All-Weather Championships Finals Day – Hosted in April, there is £1m in prize money up for grabs in the six-race categories. It’s the richest all-weather race day staged in Europe and attracts big crowds.

Northumberland Plate Festival – Previously known as the “Pitmen’s Derby”, the Northumberland Plate Festival is the North East’s version of Royal Ascot. It takes place over three days and concludes with Plate Day, Newcastle’s most famous meeting of the year.

Ladies Day – One of the highlights of the year at the racecourse and in Newcastle as a whole. Spectators get dressed to impress and can enjoy a day of racing along with live music, fizz and fashion.

Newcastle Feature Races

With racedays taking place all year round, there are several races to look forward to at Newcastle Racecourse.

• Eider Chase – Taking place in February and run over a distance of 4 miles & half a furlong with 25 fences to be jumped, the Eider Chase is a tough staying race for those involved.
• Burradon Stakes – a listed race flat race open to 3-year-olds ran over 1 mile. It’s ran at Newcastle’s Good Friday meeting in either late March or early April.
• Chipchase Stake – Ran over a distance of 6 furlongs and taking place in late June/early July.
• Fighting Fifth Hurdle – Taking place in late November/early December, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle is a grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race open to horses aged four and over. It is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling with the other two being the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park and the The Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
• Northumberland Plate Handicap – open to horses aged 3 and upwards the “Plate” is ran over a distance of 2 miles and 56 yards and is generally ran towards the end of June each year. The race is now one of the richest 2 mile handicaps in Europe and attracts entries from across the UK.  The Plate enjoyed a very successful sponsorship agreement with John Smiths from 2003 to 2016.

Betting Advice For Newcastle

Newcastle Flat Course

• Left-handed, all-weather, galloping
• Can attract nice newcomers
• Northumberland Plate the big handicap of the year
• Jim Crowley boasts a 34% strike-rate (18/53) at the track
• Joanna Mason only 12% strike-rate (13/106) but shows big LSP, 32% places (34/106) so worth looking at her mounts at big prices
• Laura Pearson (9/43) respected
• Andrea Atzeni (14/82) a jockey to note
• Charlie Hills (19/93) for a 20% strike-rate a trainer to note
• Andrew Balding (21/85 and 35 total places) does well at the track
• Daniel Kubler (5/19) for 26% strike-rate is respected

Newcastle Jumps Course

• Left-handed, galloping
• G1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle and Eider Chase the highlights over jumps
• James Moffatt with a 22.58% strike-rate (7/31) respected
• Keith Dalgleish (5/18 and 8 total places) does well with his hurdlers
• Iain Jardine (5/16) for a 31% strike-rate does well over fences
• Sandy Thomson (3/11 and 7 total places) one to note in bumpers (also 13/70 in total for a very good LSP)
• Donald McCain (11/48) and 19 places) a trainer to watch over hurdles
• Ryan Mania (14/81 and 29 places) a jockey to note
• Nathan Moscrop (13/81) shows a good LSP
• Peter Kavanagh (5/18 and 8 places) respected