Which racing experiences go in your bucket list? Here's my five

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What are your favourite racing experiences? It's a question prompted by three articles in the Racing Post at the end of last week, when our writers came up with lots of "bucket list" suggestions, things that fans of the game might aim to do in Britain, in Ireland or around the world.

The appeal of these ideas will vary, depending on your circumstances. When you're full of youthful energy, travelling long distances to achieve a certain ambition is no obstacle whatever, so long as you can raise the funds. As you get older, cashflow may be less of an issue but perhaps you need a bit more motivating to get off the sofa.

Bearing in mind that a day at the races is better than a day spent anywhere else, I've put together my five bucket list ideas below. These are the experiences that, to my way of thinking, will enrich the lives of anyone who truly loves the game.

Enjoyable in themselves, they should also provide happy memories that bubble to the surface of your consciousness every so often, when you're trying to focus on something less interesting. There's no guarantees in this game, of course - you might try all of these and find yourself unmoved. We're all different and not all of us were born with souls.

If reading this makes you think of better ideas, tell me (frontrunner@racingpost.com) and I'll share them in our letters section this week.

5. Take the train to Sandown

The absolute best way to start a day at the races is to arrive by train at Esher. As you've probably guessed from frequent references in commentary to the railway fences, the line runs alongside the back stretch on quite a high embankment. As you travel south from Waterloo, the view of suburban houses is suddenly beautified by the sight of a large, green space and long stretches of white rail, glimpsed at first in flashes between trees.

The station is unlovely but you barely have to look at it, as a path to the course leads straight off the platform and down the embankment. It then takes a Direct Route towards the grandstands, leading you across the back straight, the sprint course and finally the home straight at about the furlong marker.

It's a privilege to get such a close look at a track graced by so many legends - Dancing Brave and Desert Orchid would be among the ones that come to my mind but you'll have your own memories. From a hard-nosed punting perspective, you get an insight as to the state of the ground.

On really busy Saturdays, like the Eclipse or the Bet365 Gold Cup, the train can be jammed, sweltering and best avoided. But at any other time, it's as good a way as I've found to start any card.

Train journeys to Newton Abbot and Salisbury are also very enjoyable, though you need a taxi to the track for both of them.

Take the train to SandownCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

4. Stand by a fence

This is harder to achieve than when I started going racing in the 80s. Tracks don't let you just wander all over the place, as many of them did then.

But it's still possible to find places where you can position yourself alongside a steeplechase fence to watch a race, something that everyone who enjoys jump racing should do at least once. Only then can you get a real insight into the athletic effort required for a horse to propel itself over at speed, while fighting for space in a field of runners.

If you only ever watch races on TV, you can get blase about the challenge of jumping and the risks involved. Up close, you see the difficulty of meeting a fence at the ideal point of a horse's stride pattern, you hear the noise as they brush through the top or perhaps dive lower through the obstacle. You see the loss of momentum caused by a mistake. You hear the jockeys giving encouragement or reacting volubly to things going wrong or threatening to do so.

It's a quick way to get an insider's perspective, or at least something close to it.

3. Watch the Derby from Tattenham Corner

You can walk right up to the edge of our greatest Flat race and see the runners just feet away as they fly past. That being so, it would be a shame not to do it at some stage, to see those classy three-year-olds up close, perhaps one or two of which might have their names in pedigrees for the next 30 years.

By pressing yourself up against the rail at Tattenham Corner or on the slopes above it, you're taking part in a grand tradition dating back to the 18th century and which will hopefully last for at least as long in the future.

I was there in 2008 and was quietly satisfied to see that New Approach was still pulling for his head, as he had presumably been doing all the way up the hill. There was no way he was going to see out the 1m4f, which was why I'd laid him for a place.

Your view of the finish from Tattenham Corner is not perfect, though I saw enough of his dark green colours to have a pretty good idea what happened thereafter. Fortunately, if the big race result goes against you, there are lots of things happening on the hill to distract from your woes.

2. Be at Cheltenham for the whole of a festival

Again, this is significantly harder than the first time I did it, when there were only three days. It's become a significant stamina test but these things can always be managed if you pace yourself and allow at least three days for recovery.

The festival has changed over the years and I regret some of the changes but it's still a thrilling and wonderful celebration of the game. If you're able, at least once, to clear your schedule of all competing distractions for one week, you should really try to be there.

From the "everything is possible" feeling when the tape goes up for the Supreme to the waves of fatigue that crash against you during the Martin Pipe as it becomes clear that your carefully chosen final selection is not actually going to send you home on a high, it's a rollercoaster that simply has to be ridden.

Be there. Live every moment with tens of thousands of others. It's still magic.

Could you manage all four days at the Cheltenham Festival?Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

1. Cheer home your Grand National winner

I'm taking a risk here because this will strike some as distastefully boastful but it's not intended in that way. I'm lucky enough to have been a regular at Aintree for the National for 40 years, so the law of averages dictates that, even if I was only backing one runner each year, I'd have hit the winner by now.

It so happens that I like to have at least seven horses running for me in a typical National. I suppose I might have to scale that down, now that there's going to be only 34 runners.

For ages, I remember taking an odd pride in never having backed a first-fence faller. Inevitably, the evil day came in due course and now it seems to be a weirdly regular occurrence, including with Cloudy Glen last year. Sigh!

Maybe that will sharpen my appreciation if I'm allowed to have another National winner some day. For me, there's no greater thrill in racing than being right about a wild and hectic race that lasts for ten minutes. That's ten minutes of wishing, hoping, fearing, accepting the worst, renewing your hopes and finally bouncing around with joy.

The pleasure of a win like that lasts for the rest of your days because the memory is revived every time the race comes round again in April. Technically, someone else owns the horse. But if you kept faith with him that time he won the National, he's also your horse and a special part of your life forever. Buy a picture of him and stick it on the wall.

We're not all lucky enough to see our team win the FA Cup, or the Scottish Cup, as the case may be. But, by making good choices, we can all hope to have a Grand National winner. It's a fine ambition for anyone.

What did I miss? Email me at frontrunner@racingpost.com with your own ideas for the things that every racing fan should do.

The Ultimate Racing Bucket List

Get a unique perspective on Goodwood and enjoy Britain's most scenic track - plus ten more must-do racing experiences 

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