British racing will turn its attention to Newcastle next weekend, as the 2025 Northumberland Plate Festival gets underway.
Gosforth Park racecourse will host three days of Geordie hospitality, featuring 21 races, contributing to one of their highlight meetings of the year.
The card attracts a diverse crowd with many non-racing fans in attendance, particularly students, with many viewing it as the ‘Royal Ascot of the North’.
Live music performed by acts tributing Geordie artist Sam Fender and world-famous group ABBA, will follow racing on days two and three.
Whilst Newcastle is a city often in the spotlight for its involvement in other sports, it is sure to put on a show worthy of a national audience.
Here is everything that you need to know about the Northumberland Plate Festival.
When is the 2025 Northumberland Plate Festival?
The festival kicks off on Thursday, June 26, with the Jenningsbet In Pelton Handicap due off at 2:00pm.
This Class Six contest rates inferior to the rest of Day One’s card, which features the running of two – Class Two – handicaps at 3:10 and 3:45.
Day Two’s evening card is all about the Group Three Hoppings Stakes, due off at 7:05pm.
It follows the running of the Gosforth Park Cup – at 6:35pm – and highlights an evening under the North-East sunset.
The final day of racing plays host to the Festival’s namesake and showpiece event – the Northumberland Plate.
It is the richest – two-mile – handicap in Britain, awarding over £150,000 in prize money and will run at 3:05pm.
Trainers to watch
Local trainer Brian Elisson won the Plate last year and is sure to be in contention to take victory in the 2025 renewal.
However, prestigious names such as Charlie Appleby and John Gosden have both won the Northumberland Plate before – further reinforcing the national significance of the race.
Gosden – and son Thady – are in the middle of a Royal Ascot to remember, in which they have added to their Irish 2000 Guineas win earlier in the season.
Field Of Gold made light work of the St James’s Palace Stakes, whilst Ombudsman overcame 7/1 odds to land the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.
Those are just two of their five winners at the Royal meeting, so far, that have seen the pair jump to the top of the British Trainers Championship.
Appleby is yet to land a winner at this year’s Royal Ascot, with two of the three Godolphin-owned winners hailing from the Gosdens’ yard.
Though he has won two of the four British Classic so far this season, and it could pay dividends to keep an eye on any horse he sends up to Tyneside.
Irish-trainer Aidan O’Brien is a man familiar with winning enclosures across the world, and should a ballydole contender be named on the card, they would be in close contention for victory.
O’Brien has enjoyed a campaign in which he has taken a clean sweep of victories at the Chester Festival, the Epsom Derby Festival, as well as the Irish Oaks and the Tattersalls Gold Cup – to name a few.
He trails the Gosdens by just over £100,000 in prize money.
Other trainers to note could be Jim Goldie, who won the Northumberland Plate in 2021 when Nicholas T emerged on top at a huge 33-1.
He has also had a winner at Royal Ascot this week.
Jockeys to watch
Obvious names such as Oisin Murphy, William Buick or Ryan Moore need no introduction as they continue to cement themselves as three of Britain’s leading riders.
The former is a four-time Champion Jockey, whilst the latter is the ever-present man in the Ballydoyle saddle.
Buick sees himself continuing to ride mainly for Godolphin, on-board Appleby-trained horses, but has ridden a Gosden-trained winner at the Royal meeting for the same owners.
Though with the event coinciding with the Irish Derby Festival, they could embark on a journey to The Curragh.
Despite her Southern pedigree, Hollie Doyle is a frequent visitor to Gosforth Park.
This campaign has seen her crowned the all-time leading female jockey, as she surpassed Hayley Turner for total number of winners, aged just 28.
She claimed victory on board multiple Group One winner Trueshan in the feature race back in 2022.
It was the latter of two wins in the race for trainer Alan King, with the first coming back in 2019 and ridden by Doyle’s husband, Tom Marquand.
Marquand is another jockey to keep an eye on, boasting wins in major races across the world.
He also rode the winner of the King George V Stakes – Merchant – for trainer William Haggas, at this week’s Royal Ascot.
How to watch the Northumberland Plate Festival on TV?
Sky Sports Racing (channel 415) will broadcast every race live for Sky Sports subscribers, whilst ITV will show the festival’s showpiece live and for free.
READ MORE: Ben Morgan’s Royal Ascot Day five tips – Samui to cap off a Super Saturday
