Equestrian Circuit

Las etapas están en orden cronológico. Las fechas mostradas corresponden a la próxima edición de cada etapa; un estado discontinuo indica que el organizador aún no ha confirmado.

01Quién lo sigue

Owners, breeders and trainers; the racing public, which is the largest sporting public on this site outside football; the show-jumping and eventing worlds, whose championships run from Wellington in January to the Global Champions Tour in autumn; the polo followers who fill Guards and Cowdray in June and July; and the fashion and hospitality trades, for whom the Derby, Royal Ascot, the Arc and the Melbourne Cup are as much dress occasions as races. Cheltenham's four days in March draw a crowd of their own.

02Por qué estos eventos se vinculan

The horse connects them, and so does the breeding calendar. The flat-racing classics run in a fixed spring and summer order (the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May, Epsom on the first Saturday of June, the Prix de Diane a week later, Royal Ascot the week after that, Goodwood at the turn of July and August) toward the autumn championships at Longchamp, the Breeders' Cup and Flemington. The show-jumping and eventing seasons run alongside: Wellington's twelve weeks, Badminton in May, the Monaco and Paris Eiffel legs of the Global Champions Tour in summer, the Hampton Classic at the end of August. Cheltenham and the Dubai World Cup in March open the year.

Numerados en orden de etapa; la línea discontinua sigue la secuencia.

03La progresión habitual

The Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington from January to the end of March. Cheltenham in mid-March; the Dubai World Cup on the last Saturday of the month. Badminton in the first week of May and the Kentucky Derby the same weekend. Epsom's Derby on the first Saturday of June, the Prix de Diane at Chantilly the following Sunday, Royal Ascot in the third week, the Global Champions Tour in Monaco at the turn of June and July. Saratoga's meet from mid-July, the Qatar Goodwood Festival at the end of the month, the Hampton Classic over the last week of August. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on the first Sunday of October, the Breeders' Cup on the first weekend of November, and the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday of November to close.

04Geografía

Palm Beach County, Gloucestershire, Dubai, Kentucky, Surrey and Berkshire, Chantilly, Monaco, upstate New York, West Sussex, the Hamptons, Paris, a rotating American track for the Breeders' Cup, and Melbourne. It is the most widely spread of the circuits after Formula 1 and the only one with a fixture in Australia in spring.

Paul Tapner and Inonothing, the winning combination at Badminton Horse Trials 2010, at The Lake during the cross-country, MARS Badminton Horse Trials

05Calendario sugerido

Royal Ascot's five days, with the Queen's Cup final on the Sunday after, are the equestrian week of the year. The Derby a fortnight earlier and the Prix de Diane a week later make a natural three-weekend run from Epsom through Chantilly to Ascot. The Arc weekend in Paris in early October, with Frieze London the week after, is the autumn equivalent. The Kentucky Derby requires infield or grandstand tickets bought months ahead; Cheltenham the same.

06Solapamientos importantes

The Kentucky Derby shares its weekend with Badminton, the Met Gala and the Miami Grand Prix. Epsom falls in Monaco Grand Prix week and Roland-Garros' second week. The Prix de Diane coincides with Le Mans. Royal Ascot overlaps Art Basel and the US Open golf. The Arc falls inside Paris Fashion Week's final days and the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The Breeders' Cup shares its week with the Melbourne Cup and the New York fall auctions. Cheltenham coincides with TEFAF Maastricht and the St. Barths Bucket.

07Adónde va la gente después

After Ascot, to Wimbledon, Henley and Goodwood. After the Arc, to London for Frieze. After the Breeders' Cup and Melbourne, the racing year pauses until Cheltenham, and the show-jumping world reconvenes in Wellington in January.