- 1 Pontefract Racecourse, Park Rd, Pontefract WF8 4QD, ☏ +44 1977 781307. This has flat-racing April to October. The course encloses a park with a large duck pond. Inside the course railings is a paved track for racecourse vehicles, so even in wet weather this is a good walking and running circuit of 2 miles 1 furlong. The bottom end of the park is marshy with a bird hide, and a tunnel cuts under the M62 to give access to J32 / Xscape. (updated May 2025)
- Aspire is a council-run leisure centre with pool at the racecourse entrance.
- Pontefract Squash Club is on Stuart Rd near the bus station.
- Rugby League: the playing season is Feb-Oct. Castleford Tigers play in Super League the top tier at The Jungle on Wheldon Rd Castleford. The women's team plays in their top tier.
- Featherstone Rovers play in the Championship, the second tier. Their home ground is Post Office Road in Featherstone, three miles southwest of Pontefract.
- See Wakefield for Wakefield Trinity RL team.
- Soccer and rugby union are only played at amateur level hereabouts.
- Old Station is a Country & Western music festival held two miles south of town, by the water tower on A639 towards Ackworth in late Aug.
