The town of Newmarket is a mere sixty miles or so from London which gives it prime placement among its neighbors. For one, Newmarket is just close enough to London to have benefited from the city's astronomical growth over the years while still being far away enough from London to avoid the trappings of the city; namely crime and pollution. On top of that, Newmarket is a safe and healthy distance from the many suburbs and boroughs that grew out of London like whiskers on a cat's face. This has allowed the town to shape and craft its own identity free of influence from London and its extremities. In many ways Newmarket is the most influential and important town in and around Suffolk and much of this is due to the identity that Newmarket has shaped and created since its inception: Horseracing.
Most people know that thoroughbred horseracing is referred to as the Sport of Kings and that rich people seem to be fond of it. Other than that, though, few are aware of just how important and pervasive it is. For one, the sport is far older than nearly every other sport besides what is contained in the Olympics. Newmarket had a race track build in the 1100s! It was by no means the first track ever created either but it most certainly was the first permanent English track in the post-classical period. Since that time Newmarket has held the reins, so to speak, in terms of the world of thoroughbred racing. It is the undisputed capital of thoroughbred racing not just in England but the world.
Here's an example of how important horse racing is to the industry of Newmarket. In town, there are the usual roads and streets that everybody uses and can of course be found in every city. In Newmarket, though, there are special roads built just for the horses! Some of these horse roads even make more sense and are more convenient than the roads that we mere humans are forced to use. The special roads are necessary, of course, since the horses must get to the starting gate with as little effort as possible so that they can stand a better chance of winning their respective races. It is said that there are nearly three thousand racehorses in Newmarket. This basically means that a sixth of the living things in town are horses. One out of every four people who live in Newmarket work in the horse racing industry in some capacity whether by shoveling hay or jockeying or God knows what else. Newmarket is proud of its heritage, though, and it should be: King James and King Charles were both regular attendees at the various races held in Newmarket and even to this day the city is visited by royalty whenever a big event is held. Newmarket is filled to the brim with history and horses and a person who likes both equally would probably have a stroke if they entered the city. On the other hand, they probably already live there.
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