Newmarket, Suffolk

Coordinates: 52°14′45″N 0°24′38″E / 52.2459°N 0.4105°E / 52.2459; 0.4105

Newmarket is a market town in the English county of Suffolk, approximately 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of London. It is generally considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred horse racing and a potential World Heritage Site. It is a major local business cluster, with annual investment rivalling that of the Cambridge Science Park, the other major cluster in the region. It is the largest racehorse training centre in Britain, the largest racehorse breeding centre in the country, home to most major British horseracing institutions, and a key global centre for horse health. Two Classic races, and an additional three British Champions Series races are held at Newmarket every year. The town has been a centre for British royalty since James I, and was also a home to Charles I, Charles II and many monarchs since. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth, regularly visits the town to see her horses in training.

Newmarket Hurricanes

The Newmarket Hurricanes are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

History

In 1972, the Seneca Flyers became a part of the OPJHL. In 1975, they bought out the Newmarket Redmen of the Mid-Ontario Junior B Hockey League and moved to become the Newmarket Flyers. The Redmen dated back to the 1950s and were at one point a top level Junior "C" team.

Although the official story is that the Hurricanes got their start in the late 1980s as the Newmarket 87's, the franchise that spawned this team existed long before it. In 1986, the Newmarket Flyers folded. The OHA Junior "A" league was on rocky footing in the late 1980s and was no longer cost efficient for most member teams. Sensing the demise of the league, the Flyers went on hiatus. The league folded in 1987, their last champions happened to be the longtime Junior "B" team: Owen Sound Greys. As more Junior A teams had folded from the OHA-A, the more Junior "B" teams came in to fill the void. As the league ran almost completely out of original Junior "A" teams, the league decided it would be best to fold. The result was a mass expansion of local Junior "B" leagues—filling with both still-active teams and teams that had folded due to problems in the OHA-A. Newmarket pulled its franchise back together and joined the Central Junior "B" Hockey League as the 87's. After 1997, the 87's became the Hurricanes.