It is that most wonderful time of the year. Many friends and families across the world will be coming together to celebrate Christmas, swap presents, and overindulge in some of the finer things in life. It is a time of giving and being around loved ones. Although there is also a lot of sports events around the big day, December 25th is usually regarded as a day off for most.
Boxing Day and the Modern Festive Racing Calendar
Boxing Day horse racing is a big thing, however. There are 11 meetings in the UK on the day after Christmas alone, with some big races, such as the Grade 1 King George VI Chase and the aptly named Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle. A lot of people will probably be using their horse bet apps on that day.
It is not as though there is no sport at all on Christmas Day, though. The US is particularly fond of putting on major league games in basketball and football, for what might be considered a captive audience. But horse racing also used to be a Christmas Day event – and still is at one very special racetrack.
Like the UK, the US is quite happy to have horse racing on the day after Christmas Day (although Americans don’t call it Boxing Day). There will be racetracks across the nation welcoming punters in, possibly wearing some of their new presents, and taking in the special spectacle that is holiday racing.
When Horse Racing Took Place on Christmas Day
The Santa Anita racetrack, just outside of Los Angeles, has held a regular meeting on December 26th every year since 1977. But it actually opened its doors for the first time in 1934 on Christmas Day itself. With little in the way of televised sports and a different kind of socializing more common, a day out at the races probably seemed like an excellent idea. And it is not as though that was the only place horse racing fans could back their favorites on the big day.
Thanks to the warm weather in that part of the world, race-goers in Oakland were able to enjoy a day out, as were Mexican fans in Tijuana, and Cubans in Havana. Spending the day watching horse racing in the sun probably sounds like the best Christmas present ever to Europeans more used to battling the snow and the rain at that time of the year.
Florida and the End of Christmas Day Racing in the U.S.
Horse racing was also a popular Christmas Day activity in New Orleans and Florida. In fact, it is Florida where the tradition lived longest (with one exception that we will investigate in a moment). The warm weather tracks in that part of the world are perfect for December horse racing, and there were meetings held on Christmas Day well into the 1990s.
The Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida, only ended its meetings in 1994, with a number of horses presumably sporting festive names to entice the punters.
Why Racing Professionals Still Work on Christmas Day
It is not as though those involved in horse racing enjoy a Christmas Day off, however. Now that the big meetings are all held on December 26th, in the US as well as the UK, many jockeys and horses will still be training and putting each other through their paces while most people are settling down for one of the biggest meals of the year. Everyone who works at a stable knows that this is a busy time of year and that everything needs to be just right for the races on Boxing Day.
Athletes across a whole host of sports are well-used to this routine, with soccer games coming thick and fast at that time of year too. The traditional family Christmas is not something that top athletes really get to experience until they retire from their chosen sports.
Puerto Rico: The Last Bastion of Christmas Day Horse Racing
But, as the vast majority of race tracks across the world fall silent on December 25th, aside from those workers ensuring that everything will be ready for the big meetings the next day, there is one place that still continues the tradition of Christmas Day horse racing. While its counterparts in Florida, New Orleans, and California may look back fondly on a day’s racing on the big day, the Hipodromo Camarero in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, opens its doors to the paying public.
The race track is just a 30-minute drive away from the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan, and has a full card of races for anyone fancying a flutter. The highlight of the event is always the Grade 1 Clasico Navidad Stakes, and we can’t think of a better way to spend the holiday.
Christmas Racing Across Global Time Zones
Depending on where you are in the world, you may be able to enjoy Christmas Day horse racing from the future (kind of). With meetings being held in New Zealand and Australia on December 26th, it is still the day before in other countries, hours behind. It is not quite a Christmas Day meeting like in Puerto Rico, but it is still a festive treat.
So, while most horse racing fans look forward to presents and food on December 25th and then horse racing the day after, think about those lucky people in Puerto Rico, keeping the tradition alive and enjoying the day like many others used to all across the sunnier regions of North America.
