Horse Racing Schedule

How to Read a Horse Racing Schedule

Start with the day you want to follow, choose a track or meet, then open an individual race. This homepage brings upcoming races together by meet, with recent results further down. Use today’s schedule for a particular day’s racecards, or the weekend schedule when planning ahead. You can change the time zone before comparing tracks.

A meet, a race day and a race are different things

A meet is a period of racing at a racecourse, often lasting several weeks. A race day falls within that period; its racecard lists the individual races and their entries. A race is one contest, identified by its track, local date and race number. The same track can hold several meets in a year, and Race 1 starts a new sequence on each race day.

Try it: open Gulfstream Sunshine Meet 2026, then Race 1 on Sun, Oct 11, 2026 to see the individual race details.

On a meet card, the upcoming list starts with the nearest scheduled race. Each page contains up to five races; use the card’s page selector to see more without losing the surrounding meets. Recently completed cards work in the opposite direction, starting with the latest results.

The US Horse Racing Calendar Through the Year

US horse racing rotates between tracks and meets throughout the year. A racecourse may hold a spring meet, a summer season or separate autumn dates, with breaks between them. The guide below describes the usual seasonal pattern. For a particular year, use the announced dates in the meet calendar and check individual race days before arranging a visit.

A meet being in progress does not mean the track races every day. Likewise, an official allocation period can differ from the actual live-racing dates. Check the racecard for the day you intend to attend. Seasonal references: Keeneland racing, Del Mar seasons and CHRB’s 2026 calendar explanation.

Post Times, Time Zones & Race-Day Changes

First post is the start of the first race

First post refers to the scheduled start of the opening race on the card. Later races have their own post times. Gates may open earlier, while a television program can start before racing or join partway through the day. These times answer different questions: when to arrive, when your race starts, and when to switch on the coverage. Del Mar’s calendar, for example, lists gates and first post separately.

Keep the race date and your viewing time together

Times on this site use your selected time zone. The date identifying a race stays tied to the racecourse, so a late US race can appear the following morning for an overseas viewer. Read the date and time-zone abbreviation together. Today’s track overview follows your selected day; a track’s first post may fall earlier if its card crosses midnight in your time zone.

Post times are scheduled times, and a countdown does not confirm that a race is underway. A scratch means a horse has been withdrawn. Weather, track conditions and race-day decisions can also alter a card. Open the race details for announced changes and check the linked official racecard before heading out.

Where to Watch Horse Racing

Use the horse racing TV schedule to match a race with a channel or official stream. A program window describes the broadcast, which may cover several tracks. A race post time describes one race. Check the listed channel and access requirements; a subscription, account or regional restriction may apply even when a schedule is free to browse.

The free viewing guide separates announced free options from paid services. Availability can change by event. For an example of provider-specific information, NYRA’s official viewing guide distinguishes FOX Sports coverage and streaming destinations. A replay is a recording after a race, not a live stream.

Finding Entries, Results & Race Replays

Before a race, its detail page shows the available entries, jockeys, trainers and race conditions. A horse’s program number and starting gate can differ. Morning line odds are pre-race estimates, not live prices. Expand the horse information for any available owner, breeder and pedigree details.

After a race, look for the winner, leading finishers, winning time and track condition. A summary may not contain every finishing position; use the full race chart for the complete result. Other starters listed without positions should not be read as a finishing order. Verified race-specific replays appear on the same detail page when available, with in-page and full-screen playback.

Horse Racing Schedule Questions