Our trained guides hold a wealth of information between them and are passionate about the town’s history and heritage. Many have worked within the horse racing industry for most of their lives and are keen to share their personal knowledge and stories with you. In booking a tour with us you can be assured of first class service, in depth knowledge and a style and humour that will ensure you are entertained and educated at the same time. Come and meet the guides:
Char was born and bred into racing and has ridden out for many trainers including Bruce Hobbs and Sir Henry Cecil. She grew too tall to be a jockey so turned her hand to Point to Pointing with her best result being a brave second! Char has a huge wealth of knowledge, having lived and breathed racing for all her life and is one of our long standing guides.
Malcolm was a National Hunt Amateur Jockey at the age of 23, and later in life went on to be a designer and builder of stables and other buildings for the racing industry in Newmarket. Malcolm is our longest serving tour guide, having taken up guiding in 1995, and so can tell a story or two!
Larry has worked in racing since 1968, starting as a stable lad then going on to become an Apprentice Jockey on the flat. His achievements include a winner on the flat and 24 winners over jumps in both the UK and Italy. He worked for many years on thoroughbred stud farms. As well as tour guide for Discover Newmarket he also works at the National Horseracing Museum.
Sandie’s career in the racing industry started in the 70’s when she rode out and was secretary to a Lambourn trainer. Following this she was secretary/PA to a leading Newmarket stud before joining her husband in his bloodstock agency. She has attended bloodstock sales in the UK, Ireland, France and the USA, and works alongside her husband in stud and racing management.
Nigel started his racing career at 14 riding for Fulke Walwyn. He rode a number of winners over fences and on the flat as an amateur. He has served in the Military, on Stud Farms in New Zealand, the US and the UK and trained privately at Stetchworth Park Stud. He is a member of the TBA Council and won the TBA Dominion Prize for services to Racing and Breeding.
In his early life Richard was a journalist in East Anglia before moving into public relations, working mainly in London. He has lived in the Newmarket area for over 40 years and, with family connections to the world of horseracing, he has developed a keen interest in the bloodstock industry.
From a young age, Jane has always had a key interest in jump racing. Having re-trained racehorses for eventing, she changed her hand to Point-to-Pointing, bringing her horses to Newmarket weekly to use the links. Having had several rides herself over the years, Jane has also competed in the Newmarket Town Plate in 1988. Jane has a particular interest in the breeding side of the racing industry and also works for the National Horseracing Museum.
Lynn has been involved in horseracing for over twenty years, with her passion beginning after owning a share in a racehorse. From this, it actually led her to becoming a small breeder with one mare, which has then stemmed her interest in the breeding industry, along side racing itself. Living in Newmarket, Lynn enjoys sharing her knowledge with anyone keen to explore the history of horseracing, the town of Newmarket and the National Stud.
Having lived in Newmarket for the last 12 years, Lesley has fallen in love with the home of horseracing. Having worked with one of the largest agricultural auctioneers in Europe as an export manager, Lesley has since switched agricultural auction house for Tattersalls, as she is a keen sales goer! Lesley also volunteered and now works sporadically at the National Horseracing Museum on the yard, working with the resident ex-racehorses.
A new interpretation board and commemorative plaque have been unveiled at Newmarket railway station, marking the town’s rich railway heritage as part of the national Railway 200 celebrations.
Ely Cathedral is delighted to announce the return of peregrine falcons to its historic West Tower, marking another exciting chapter in the life of one of the region’s most iconic landmarks.
As generations of fine-limbed thoroughbreds pranced on and off the trains at Newmarket’s original railway station, almost unnoticed, their working class cousins were shifting around the waggons which carried them to racecourses all over the country.
The Ipswich to Cambridge rail line, which includes 11 stations including Newmarket, is to be promoted as St.
Spring has finally arrived, and Easter is looking to be packed with egg-citing adventures for families looking to make magical memories.
Whether your car is temporarily off the road, you are planning a weekend escape, or you simply need flexible access to a second vehicle, Plug in Suffolk Car Clubs are aiming to transform the way residents think about travel.
The tourism body Discover Newmarket is launching a new initiative with Newmarket Racecourses, extending a warm welcome to the first 100 new residents to move into the town this spring by offering an all-access, behind the scenes tour of the town’s historic racing landmarks.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day (8th March 2025), we’re taking the opportunity to look back at a definitive time in history when Ellen Chaloner, a trailblazing trainer became the first woman to be given a permit to train horses by the Jockey Club in 1886.
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