News
Monday October 26 2026
Plumpton Racecourse Brings Back Christmas Event in 2026
While events are going on up and down the country, it still takes quite some effort to create a Christmas occasion that convinces people to come out into the cold and, likely, the rain, which has at last arrived. Following on from a previous success, Plumpton Racecourse will be putting on an extravaganza complete with horse racing and colourful attire. The extravaganza is, of course, Christmas Jumper Raceday. Up there with staples of the calendar like Ladies’ Day for the season opener, the Easter Festival, and the Bet Goodwin Sussex National, Christmas Jumper Raceday has become a fan favourite and is primed to help make this prime window of horse racing even more popular in 2026 for fans in East Sussex.
Get Those Zany Christmas Jumpers Ready
Celebrating the Christmas period, Plumpton Racecourse has not one, but two Christmas occasions for race fans and everyone else to come and enjoy. On 30 November, the festivities get kicked off with the Christmas Countdown Raceday.
Even though decorations are already going up and supermarkets are already selling Christmas goods, it’s the turn from November to December that really gets Christmas underway. Just a couple of weeks after that, it’s onto the premier event at the racecourse for this time of year. Christmas Jumper Raceday will get underway on 14 December this year.
It’s a December tradition for racing fans and first-timers alike, complete with a stacked card of jump racing, festive hospitality options, and lots more to explore. Last year, traditional carols were played around races by Sussex Brass, there was a mini-Christmas market to explore, and lots of local foods and drinks were for sale after each guest received their candy cane on arrival.
Bringing the Spotlight to Christmas Horseracing
Throughout December, and particularly around Christmas, the jump season really breaks into an extra gear. Plenty of premier meets take place, particularly on Boxing Day and up to New Year’s Eve. So, ITV has teamed up with the BHA to make sure that more can be televised, with the BHA agreeing to adjust the schedule to make racing available on terrestrial TV for four consecutive days.
Shuffling the stack of major meets of this window should help to further the attention drawn to horse racing. The sport is seeing a revival in attendance and racetrack betting, returning to pre-2020 numbers strongly. However, more can be done beyond the tracks and TV to further make horse racing a staple of the Christmas period.
Already, horse racing is expanding into online casino gaming to enhance its presence. The Great Britain casino is loaded with slots that have recently risen to the fore for their horse racing theme. The Big Bass series runs Raceday Repeat, Return to the Races, and there’s Frankie Dettori’s Jackpot Roulette and Leprechaun’s Luck Race Bonanza.
Horse racing has proven to be popular in this fairly adjacent corner of entertainment, potentially leading to a further crossover. After all, Big Bass has also gone big on Christmas slots with Frozen Lake and Christmas Bash. A Big Bass Christmas Race Day, perhaps, could do well to bring in those race fans during the December window.
Following the success of the event last year, Plumpton Racecourse will, again, be going all out to make this a very special occasion and worthy of an early donation of your favourite Christmas jumper.
