Madness: Live at Newmarket Racecourse

After wowing arena audiences and racegoers for years, the brilliant Madness are back at Newmarket Racecourse for a live show after racing on Friday, July 17th, 2026. Friday evening racing at the July Course is special. Madness are here to make it all the better once again, performing some of their outrageous ska-inspired hits from the 80’s and beyond.

Get ready to jump along to One Step Beyond, It Must Be Love, House of Fun, Our House and many more hits besides. All of this after a great early evening of fine turf thoroughbred action too. Those attending can take in the sporting action at the home of British horse racing before what promises to be an utterly triumphant show from one of Britain’s best loved music acts of all time.

Madness and Summer Racing Timings & Location

Whether you’re a racegoer, a Madness fan or both, your admission gets you the best views of all the evening’s entertainment. Entrance as always is gained vie the July Course, just follow the signs on arrival at ‘Newmarket Racecourses’.

Timings

Both the Rowley Mile and the July Course, our venue for Madness, have great facilities to take advantage of. The Premier Enclosure, Garden Enclosure and Champions Lawn are all popular areas for ticket holders. Timings for racing and Madness Live at the July Course on Friday, July 17th are:

Gates open at 3:15pm
First race is due off at 5:15pm
Last race is due off at 8:40pm
Madness live is due to start at 9:00pm

The show is set for around an hour and a half, finishing at approximately 10:30pm. The start time for the gig may depend on the final race of the evening which can overrun.

The event stage is very easy to find at Newmarket’s July Course. It is set within the Premier Enclosure, between Grandstand’s 2 and 3, facing the track. You won’t be able to miss it – just follow the lights and the noise!

Live Racing Before Madness

Newmarket is the home of British Flat turf racing. You can be present at what is an iconic sporting venue to watch some great thoroughbreds before the live show starts. Some of the country’s very best jockeys and trainers, many of whom live and work in the town, will be in attendance.

The official schedule isn’t announced yet, but we expect at least six races to be on the card. Information for all the runners and riders can be found in your racecard. Last year’s line-up is expected to be closely replicated, which was:

Race 1 – 7-furlong novice stakes
Race 2 – 1-mile novice stakes
Race 3 – 6-furlong fillies’ handicap
Race 4 – 5-furlong handicap
Race 5 – 1-mile, 2-furlong handicap
Race 6 – 7-furlong handicap
Race 7 – 1-mile, 4-furlong handicap

No matter the race distance, watchers from all enclosures get a great view of the horses as they pass on their way to the line. You can also keep an eye on your runners via the big screen on course, along with hearing commentary from the PA system.

As soon as the presentations are made after the final event, attention moves to the stage with Madness set to appear around 9pm.