Jockey Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the North American thoroughbred horse racing industry see: The Jockey Club.

For the club that was a fixture of high society in 19th century Paris see: Jockey-Club de Paris.

The Jockey Club is a British private members club concerned with the sport of horse racing. It has a clubhouse in Newmarket, which is known in the United Kingdom as "The Home of Racing", and offices in central London. It was historically the dominant organisation in British horseracing, and it remained responsible for the day-to-day regulation of British horseracing until April 2006. It continues to own and manage 13 racecourses through Racecourse Holdings Trust, and it also owns 4,500 acres of training grounds at Newmarket, and 500 acres of training grounds at Lambourn.

The Jockey Club is not a club for jockeys. Rather it is traditionally one of the most exclusive high society social clubs in the United Kingdom. Many of the members are racehorse owners. The fact that it acquired a governing role in the sport reflected the dominant role of the aristocracy in British horse racing up to the 20th century, and the removal of this role was in part a conscious effect to move away the sport away from its patrician image. This can be compared with the way that cricket's Marylebone Cricket Club became the governing body of cricket by default, but later surrendered most of its powers to more egalitarian bodies.

Before 2006, it was one of the three bodies which provided management for horse racing in the United Kingdom in conjunction with the British Horseracing Board (itself an offshoot of the Jickey Club) and the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

The Jockey Club was responsible for:

Race course medical and veterinary arrangements for riders and horses
Employment and direction of race course Officials
The licensing of racecourses
Licensing of trainers, riders, valets
The registration of owners and stable employees
Disciplinary matters
Security and anti-doping measures
The conduct of racing

These regulatory responsibilities were transferred to a new Horseracing Regulatory Authority from 3 April 2006.^[1]

The thirteen racecourses owned by the Jockey Club are set out below. They are divided into "large" and "smaller" courses as on the club's official site. The counties in which they are located are also shown.

Large courses: