NEWMARKET, the home of racing, where thousands of thoroughbreds are led through the streets to communal gallops on a daily basis, hosts the always-popular July festival at the height of summer.

Set in the intimate, by festival standards, surroundings of Newmarket's July course, it features three days of international-class racing and is a social fixture whose influence radiates far beyond the tight-knit Newmarket community.

While racegoers in their finery sip champagne in the shadow of the grandstand the racecourse plays host to many of the nation's finest horses in top-class races such as the Falmouth Stakes and July Cup.

The latter, an exhilarating six-furlong sprint, is one of the season's more exotic offerings, often welcoming international sprinters from Europe, South Africa and Australia.