It's in the name – so get more horses on courses to help secure racing's future

This year has been very kind, offering the opportunity to tick off three tracks in two new countries on the 'racecourses visited' list, Bro Park in Sweden and Happy Valley and Sha Tin in Hong Kong.

Thousands of miles apart geographically and culturally they may be, but as is the case across six of the seven continents, even the most homesick of racing fans would find familiar features alongside the white rails.

Struggling with the local delicacies? Buy an overpriced burger of questionable origin. Don't speak the local lingo? Odds look the same in any language (well, yes, they're displayed in Cantonese in Hong Kong, but the screens also show Arabic numerals for westerners). You get the idea, it's a little home from home – all built on humans' millennia-long fascination with the horse.