Brighton betting with William Hill

Brighton is a popular summer flat racing venue just a mile from the centre of town on the Sussex coast. The racecourse provides scenic views from Whitehawk Hill on the edge of the Sussex Downs.

The Brighton betting highlight of the season is the Brighton Mile, the feature race of the three-day August Summer Festival. Check William Hill promotions for the latest special offers, price boosts and Brighton odds.

Brighton betting – the big meetings

Brighton hosts race meetings from April through to October, highlighted by the three-day summer festival in early August. The main event is the Brighton Mile Challenge Trophy on the opening day, a handicap for three-year-olds and upwards.

The second day is the popular Ladies Day, with the meeting closing on a Friday with the Festival Finale. The meeting prides itself on its eccentricity at what is widely regarded as one of the friendliest racecourses in the country.

Brighton betting – the big races

The most prestigious race in the history of the course was the Brighton Gold Cup over two miles. It was won for three successive seasons by Rockingham between 1834 and 1836. He had won the St Leger and the Doncaster Cup in 1833.

The race was also won by 1871 Epsom Derby winner Favonius. He won the Derby on only the second start of his career and was a confident Brighton tip for the Gold Cup, winning easily by three lengths.

His owner Baron Meyer de Rothschild was successful in four of the five English Classic races that season.

The Brighton Challenge Cup attracted the great filly Park Top in 1967 and 1968. She went on to win the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1969 as well as the Coronation Cup and the Hardwicke Stakes.

Brighton betting tips

Local trainer Gary Moore features in plenty of Brighton tips and is regularly among the winners here. It is also worth noting the runners of Tony Carroll and Richard Hannon.

The Moore racing family have very strong links to Brighton. Charlie Moore trained from nearby Ingleside Stables with his son Gary taking over the stable in 1997.

Gary is the father of leading jockey Ryan, National Hunt jockeys Jamie and Joshua and top amateur rider Hayley. Ryan Moore is always popular among Brighton betting picks when he visits his local venue.

Jockeys Pat Cosgrave and Adam Kirby are popular Brighton bets and both have enjoyed considerable success at the seaside track. Tom Marquand is another rider with a good recent record at Brighton.

Visit news.williamhill.com for all the latest horse racing news and Brighton betting odds.

Brighton betting - course characteristics

Brighton is a sharp, left-handed track of about a mile and three furlongs with a run-in of half a mile. The downhill run into the home straight is the sharpest decline in the country and is followed by an uphill climb to the finish.

The course has some similarities with Epsom in that there is a natural camber towards the far rail, causing the runners to hang to their left.

Horses turn both right and left-handed in the longer distance races. The track favours sharp well-balanced horses and front-runners have a good record here.

It is worth considering runners with previous course form when calculating your Brighton bets. The old saying “horses for courses” could have been invented for Brighton, a track where course specialists thrive.

The going can have an impact on the draw when assessing your Brighton tips. In soft ground, the jockeys tend to steer their mounts towards the faster ground on the stands side and a high draw is an advantage in races up to a mile.

Brighton horse racing history

The first official Brighton races took place in 1783 with the main summer meeting staged to coincide with the local Whitehawk Fair.

Brighton racecourse originally extended across the South Downs to Roedean, which enabled longer races to take place. National Hunt racing over hurdles took place at the track from the 1830’s through to 1889.

The racecourse enjoyed something of a boom with the arrival of the railway in the 1850’s, making it a popular venue for Londoners.

Brighton became part of the Sussex fortnight between the big meeting at Glorious Goodwood and racing at nearby Lewes. Brighton even staged a Derby trial in the 1960’s, won by subsequent St Leger winners Hethersett and Sodium.

Brighton racecourse suffered from the decline in popularity of the traditional English seaside holiday. It was purchased by Northern Racing in 1998 and underwent a £4 million refurbishment.

Northern Racing merged with Arena Racing in 2012 and Brighton is now enjoying a resurgence as a popular summer racing venue.

Famous Brighton races and racehorses

Sheikh Mohammed had with his first winner in the UK at Brighton in 1977. Hatta was a two-year-old filly trained by the late John Dunlop and won the Bevendene Maiden Stakes in the famous maroon and white silks.

The Sheikh went on to become a hugely influential figure in British horse racing through his Godolphin operation in Newmarket. He still has runners today at Brighton, now in the blue colours of Godolphin.

There was tragedy at Brighton in 1981 when jockey Joe Blanks fell from Sleigh Queen and later died from his injuries. American jockey Steve Cauthen, known as “The Kid”, rode his 1,000th winner in Britain on Picnicing at Brighton in 1987.

One of the most popular Brighton bets in recent seasons has been the grey Roy Rocket. He recorded his ninth Brighton win for Newmarket trainer John Berry in 2018. Roy Rocket was racing at Brighton for the 23rd time and enjoyed something of a celebrity status with local racegoers.

Another favourite among Brighton betting tips was Shikari’s Son. He won nine times here during his career, the last of them in 1995 over six furlongs. He won over five furlongs in 1990 and showed his versatility by winning the Brighton Mile in 1994.

Remarkably, he went on to win the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood as an eight-year-old in 1995. He was ridden by Richard Hughes and started a 40/1 outsider, beating 9/2 favourite Top Banana by three-quarters of a length.

Megalala was another popular Brighton tip, winning eight times in 38 appearances at the track. The son of Petardia finally retired at the age of 17 after 148 races under rules.

He was trained at Liphook in Hampshire by John Bridger. His victory at Lingfield in 2016 at the age of fifteen made him the oldest horse to win on the flat since World War II.

Other track specialists include Pour La Victoire, Mandhooma and Operatic Society. Pour La Victoire recorded his eighth course victory in 2018 when ridden by Poppy Bridgewater. He was trained by Tony Carroll at Cropthorne in Worcestershire.

Brighton racecourse - how to get there

Road users can access the racecourse from the A23 via the A27 Brighton bypass. Follow signs towards Sussex University before turning off at the B2123 to Woodingdean. Turn right at the traffic lights and Brighton racecourse is approximately one mile away on the left.

There are regular trains from London Victoria, Kings Cross and London Bridge to Brighton. There are also frequent services on the local rail network from Eastbourne, Lewes, Hastings, Worthing and Portsmouth.