Racing is a global passion that unites sports fans and brings the very best equine talents together to battle for prizes that are often rich in heritage.
The fabric of the sport of kings is laced with great stories from great racetracks.
Many factors can combine to make a racecourse great, including location, views and how the track is perceived in terms of fairness as well as the races that it hosts.
Check out our list of top 10 racecourses below.
10. Leopardstown
To the Emerald Isle first and Ireland's premier dual purpose track at Leopardstown.
Located below the Dublin mountains, the Foxrock track is a stone's throw from the city centre and is viewed as being a fair racetrack both over jumps and on the Flat.
The hugely popular Dublin Racing Festival in February each year has elevated Leopardstown's standing in recent times and the meeting is one of the fastest growing sporting attractions in Ireland.
9. Longchamp
Another track on the outskirts of a major European capital city is Longchamp, located in the Parisian suburbs and home to the world famous Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Europe's most significant middle distance contest.
ParisLongchamp - as it has come to be known - recently underwent a major redevelopment ensuring it now has the facilities to go with the world class racing and it attracts a huge number of visitors from Britain and Ireland.
8. York
One of Britain's oldest and most treasured courses, racing has been charted back three centuries on York's famous Knavesmire.
The track itself is expansive and deemed very fair, wide and galloping in nature, and its proximity to the beautiful walled city of York, rich in heritage, adds to the mystique of this Flat-racing only venue.
The Ebor Festival in August boasts a major handicap of that name as well the Group 1 Juddmonte International and Nunthorpe Stakes.
7. Happy Valley
Racing is hugely popular in Hong Kong and Happy Valley Racecourse, which was originally constructed in 1845, is the centrepiece in their crown.
This magnificent city centre racecourse is nestled amongst the skyscrapers and the seven-storey stands tower over the track, which regularly hosts crowds of up to 55,000 treated to top racing as well as live music and entertainment between races.
6. Flemington
Home of the Melbourne Cup, Flemington Racecourse hosts the contest billed as the 'race that stops a nation' on the first Tuesday in November.
Flemington is the oldest metropolitan racecourse in Australia and was first used in 1840.
The Melbourne Cup may have been toppled in terms of being Australia's richest race, but it can never be matched for heritage and appeal, as evidenced by the crowds that flock to Flemington annually.
The revamped venue is awash with colour for Cup Day, as the whole of Australia stops to watch their much-loved two-mile handicap.
5. Del Mar
Located in the Del Mar Fairgrounds of San Diego County in Southern California, the racecourse at Del Mar takes some matching for visual beauty.
Del Mar Racecourse typically operates from July through to September, with the course located just one block from the Pacific Ocean and offering stunning views.
It is also a regular on the Breeders' Cup rotation, hosting America's very own World Championships of racing with the ocean as its stunning backdrop.
4. Killarney
Views of a different kind at Killarney in the south-west of Ireland but, nonetheless, the Co Kerry venue is often proclaimed as one of the world's most picturesque courses.
Killarney Races take place in May, July and August and offer a mix of jumps and Flat racing, with the lakes and mountains offering a stunning backdrop.
Racegoers can sample one of Ireland's most popular tourist towns, while there is a unique nine-hole parkland golf course designed and built in and around the racecourse.
3. Aintree
The pride of Liverpool and the home of the world's most iconic jumps race, Aintree is the battleground for the Grand National.
Originating in 1839, the Grand National is best known National Hunt race in the world, featuring famous fences like Becher's Brook, Foinavon, The Chair and the Canal Turn.
The famous Liverpool welcome sees the three-day National Meeting run amid a relaxed and celebratory mood.
2. Ascot
Ascot is deemed as Britain's epicentre of racing, offering the best of Flat and National Hunt racing all year round with Group 1s and Grade 1s in both codes.
There is no questioning the highlight, the five-day Royal Ascot festival in June that mixes high-class Group 1 racing with some of the toughest handicaps in Europe.
The ongoing patronage of Britain's Royal Family at the meeting helps to contribute to levels of style, pomp and ceremony that are unmatched anywhere in the world.
It makes Royal Ascot the quintessentially British summer sporting experience that is lapped up by racings enthusiasts across the globe.
1. Cheltenham
Cheltenham is the home of National Hunt racing and the one true mecca for connections of any horse bred to jump obstacles.
The racecourse at Prestbury Park is nestled underneath the shadows of nearby Cleeve Hill, set amongst some 350 acres of countryside in the majestic Cotswolds countryside.
Cheltenham began racing in 1815 and has since grown into one of the sport's true phenomenal success stories, with the Cheltenham Festival in March attracting interest levels that are unparalleled in racing.
Quite aside from the popularity of the meeting, Cheltenham's two courses are viewed as the ultimate test for jumpers, fair in their nature but demanding as the runners finish by climbing the famous Cheltenham hill.
The Gold Cup, jumps racing's Blue Riband event, is the pinnacle of the sport and for any fan of National Hunt racing, there is simply nowhere else on earth quite like Cheltenham.
