Best international racetracks to play on Christmas Day

Christmas Day is a quiet one for U.S. horse racing, with Thoroughbred and harness tracks alike taking the day off. But internationally, many racetracks are in action, in part because huge time zone differences allow Friday racing in countries like Australia and Japan to take place on Thursday night in the U.S.

Wondering which international tracks are available to bet on, and at what time racing gets underway at each one? Here’s a sampling of the options on TwinSpires.com:

6:00 a.m. ET: Cagnes-sur-Mer (France)

You’ll have to place bets early if you want to play the steeplechase and hurdle racing at Hippodrome de la Cote d’Azur in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. There are seven races on the card, ranging in distance from 3,400 meters (about 2 1/8 miles) to 4,000 meters (about 2 1/2 miles).

6:48 a.m. ET: Vincennes (France)

Fans of harness racing will have plenty to enjoy on Christmas Day, particularly in the morning. The action gets started early at Vincennes in France.

9:20 a.m. ET: Umaker (Sweden)

If you’d rather not tune in super early for French harness racing, that’s okay—Sweden takes up the slack with harness racing at Umaker starting at 9:20 a.m. The 10 races have attracted 119 entries, averaging 11.9 per race.

1:35 p.m. ET: Forus (Sweden)

In the afternoon, Sweden’s harness racing action moves over to Forus. The vast majority of the races have drawn between eight and 14 horses, providing plenty of betting options.

9:15 p.m. ET: Busan (South Korea)

If you prefer Thoroughbred racing to harness racing and steeplechase racing, wait until evening, when Busan in South Korea gets going.

9:35 p.m. ET: Randwick (Australia)

An eight-race card at Randwick is packed with large fields. The feature event is Race 7, the Yulong Summer Cup, featuring 11 horses.

9:55 p.m. ET: Beaumont (Newcastle) (Australia)

The seven-race lineup at Beaumont (Newcastle) features somewhat smaller fields than at Warwick and Sunshine Coast (see below), so finding winners should be a little easier.

9:59 p.m. ET: Warwick (Australia)

The eight-race slate at Warwick gets underway at 9:59 p.m. Just like at Sunshine Coast, three of the races have drawn 20 or more entries.

10:18 p.m. ET: Sunshine Coast (Australia)

Huge and competitive fields abound at Sunshine Coast. Three of the eight races have drawn between 21 and 24 entries, and every race features at least 12 horses.

12:04 a.m. ET: Pinjarra (Australia)

For bettors on the East Coast, racing at Pinjarra gets started after midnight—technically the day after Christmas.

1:35 a.m. ET: Tokyo City (Japan)

The first several races on the Tokyo City card in Japan will be available to play on TwinSpires. Large fields featuring between 12 and 14 horses abound.

Have a Merry Christmas!