Caesarea Racecourse

Caesarea Racecourse is Israel's flagship horse racing venue, opened in 2009 and located in the Caesarea industrial and tourism zone adjacent to the ancient Roman port city of Caesarea Maritima on Israel's Mediterranean coast. The track replaced the older Ramat Gan Racecourse as Israel's primary racing venue and represents a significant upgrade in facilities, track quality, and spectator infrastructure. The Israel Racing Authority (IRK — Rashut HaMerotzim) administers Israeli thoroughbred racing under the Ministry of Agriculture, maintaining the national stud book, licensing trainers and jockeys, and overseeing pari-mutuel wagering operations. Israeli horse racing operates within a unique cultural context — a sport with roots in the British Mandate period (1920-1948), when British colonial administrators developed racing as part of the broader sporting infrastructure of Mandatory Palestine. The Arab population of Mandatory Palestine also maintained strong equestrian traditions through the Arabian horse breeding culture that has deep roots in the region; today's Israeli racing community includes both Jewish Israeli and Arab Israeli participants. Caesarea's turf oval is maintained to high standards appropriate for the Israeli Mediterranean climate — the track's spring and autumn racing seasons (March-June and September-December) avoid the extremes of Israeli summer heat. The Israel Derby — the national three-year-old Classic — is the track's most prestigious race, drawing the season's best Classic-age horses for the country's most watched racing event. The Arabian horse breeding industry in Israel (centred on the Negev desert stud farms) provides a unique supplementary dimension to the racing programme.