Newmarket is known far and wide for the industry of horse racing.  The history of the village, as well as the modern economy of the village today, is intertwined with the sport.  The National Horse Racing Museum is located close to many a Newmarket hotel,  and currently is part of the incredible Jockey Club.  An article that details the history of racing is on display at this location, written by the museum’s former director, Hilary Bracegirdle.  The museum also offers an in depth look on their website, at the history of and the influence of the horses to the village.

Another organization that receives many questions on the topic is the Newmarket Local History Society.  As with many in the world today, everyone wants to know who we are and where we come from, the the History Society receives many calls and letters regarding past jockeys with whom they may be related, or regarding anyone else in the industry in any capacity with whom they may be family.  Those in the industry are historical and modern day ‘rock stars’, and everyone wants to know that they are a part of the history and glory.  However, Bracegirdle states that unless the individual for whom one is searching for was high up in the industry, it is just very difficult to track.

The number of these inquiries is so great that two more societies field calls looking for those family members, the Cambridgeshire Family History Society, and the Saint Edmunds office of county records.   The history of the village does exceed that of the racing industry, though what most people consider Newmarket, the turf, the tracks and pounding of hooves is what comes to the minds of everyone.  Many of the areas throughout the town are filled with remains from the Bronze age, and provide evidence that people have been settling in the region for thousands of years, far before the advent of the industry of horse racing.