The Aveley Racecard

October 21, 2026

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who can pass a racecourse without a flicker, and those who cannot. I have always belonged firmly to the second sort.

It began early, at point-to-points at Marks Tey, where the going is honest, the weather is Essex and the horses take their work seriously even if nobody else does. Goodwood and Ascot followed in due course, and with them the discovery that a day at the races is one of the few English institutions that improves the more hats are involved.

What has always charmed me is that racing belongs to everyone. The duke in the Royal Enclosure and the chap with a folded paper by the rails are, for a few minutes, gripped by exactly the same question, and neither of them knows the answer.

From 1999 to 2014 I photographed people in the public eye, and racing, being where the public eye tends to wander in June, found its way into the archive. The picture here was taken at Royal Ascot on 20 June 2003: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whose love of the turf was well known. Gary Lineker was there that day too, turned out immaculately in morning dress and top hat.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Ascot, 20 June 2003. Credit: Charlie Pycraft / BACKGRID. Licensing: Backgrid UK Sales, backgrid_uksales@shutterstock.com

These days racing is purely an entertainment. I watch it, I read about it, and once a year I have a modest flutter on the Grand National, as half the nation does. This page is not a tipping service, and anyone who treats it as one deserves whatever the handicapper hands them.

Big races

Now and then I will add a few thoughts on the great occasions of the calendar, beginning with the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday 10 April 2027. Expect a personal view of the race and the day, offered in the spirit of a spectator, never a tip sheet.

The paper-tips test

Purely for amusement, a friend and I keep a paper-tips test: each of us writes down our selections and we see whose judgement would have been vindicated. No money changes hands and no figures are kept, which spares a good deal of embarrassment.

18+ only. This page is for entertainment. Please gamble responsibly: BeGambleAware.org

Nothing on this page is betting advice, and no winnings are promised or implied.