As the year draws to a close, it’s a time to look back on the past 12 months – and what a year it has been in Newmarket 2016!

Below we’ve put together a round up of our best bits from the past amazing 12 months…

Celebrating Newmarket’s 350th Year

2016 marked 350 years since King Charles II returned to Newmarket and modern organised horseracing was born. To mark this monumentous year, there was a huge array of celebrations in Newmarket 2016.

These included a tandem Spitfire flypast over the Rowley Mile at the QIPCO Guineas Festival back in the spring, the unveiling of a specially commissioned statue of King Charles II himself at the July Course in the summer, a giant ‘350‘ formed by 600 Newmarket Academy students and the sealing and burying of a special 350 Time Capsule in the autumn.

All this was in addition to the usual thrills and excitement of the Newmarket 2016 racing season.

Newmarket Open Weekend

On 17th and 18th September, The Newmarket Open Weekend was once again a resounding success with a huge number of people turning out to experience all the best of Newmarket.

The famous Gallops were exclusively open to the public, there was an opportunity to see behind the scenes at the National Stud and Jockey Club Rooms, Tattersalls offered a fantastic one-off talk in its legendary sales ring and a number of trainers yards were open for the public to visit.

On top of all this, there was a fantastic Food & Drink Festival at the Rowley Mile, followed by an afternoon’s racing.

Newmarket Monopoly

In early May 2016, our amazing town was immortalised with its very own edition of the classic family game, Monopoly! The amazing board included all of the famous landmarks, such as The British Racing School, National Stud, Palace House, Newmarket Racecourses, Tattersalls and The Gallops.

National Heritage Centre Opening

November saw the long-awaited and greatly anticipated opening of the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art. This amazing facility features five fascinating galleries that make up the new National Horseracing Museum, the Fred Packard Gallery of Sporting art in the King’s old Palace, and the brand new flagship yard for the Retraining of Racehorses charity in the Rothschild Yard.

There is also a fantastic gift shop offering memorabilia from your visit, along with two fantastic eateries – The Tack Room and The Pantry Bakery, both located on site.

The Queen’s Visit

However, arguably the most exciting thing to happen in Newmarket 2016 was a visit from none other than Her Majesty The Queen on 4th November!

The Queen arrived by helicopter to unveil a bronze statue of herself on Birdcage Walk, before travelling through Newmarket to visit the newly opened National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art.

She spent some time visiting some of her own ex-racehorses in the Rothschild Yard before unveiling a specially-made plaque to mark the official opening of the National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art.

These are just a few of the amazing things to take place in our wonderful town this year – here’s to an equally fantastic 2017!

Why not start your 2017 in style by booking up your Discover Newmarket tour? Browse our tours here, or give us a call on 0344 748 9200.