Hippodrome de Marrakech

Hippodrome de Marrakech is Morocco's summer racing venue, serving as the base for the national thoroughbred programme during the June-September period when Casablanca's coastal heat makes conditions difficult for turf racing. Set in the Palmeraie district of Marrakech with the Atlas Mountains as backdrop, the track has operated since the 1920s and is one of the most visually distinctive racing venues in Africa. The Hippodrome hosts the summer leg of Morocco's national flat championship and several listed-quality races that draw the best horses from SOREC's national programme. The track's 1,900-metre turf course is shallower-rooted than Casablanca's established surface, creating faster going conditions that suit speedier horses.