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36-555: The Grand Military Gold Cup is a National Hunt steeplechase in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 37 yards or 4,862 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in January. The race was first run in 1841 and the 150th running took place in 2013. The race is restricted to (currently serving) military amateur riders. Ownership of

72-713: A complete circuit. There is also a straight mile course. There are 29 fixtures in the 2024 calendar year including the two-day Unibet Jumps Season Opener on Friday 11 October and Saturday 12 October. This meeting features the Wasdell Group Silver Trophy (Handicap Hurdle) and the Grade Two Unibet Persian War Novices' Hurdle. The richest race of the year, the Coral Welsh Grand National takes place on Friday 27 December 2024. This meeting also features

108-408: A different track each year. The 'National Hunt Meeting' established itself in the racing calendar, in turn moving around such courses as Sandown, New market, Derby, Liverpool, Hurst Park, Lincoln, Leicester and many others. In 1904 and 1905, Cheltenham hosted the meeting, and although Warwick was awarded it for five years after that, it then returned to Cheltenham which became the permanent home of

144-444: A group of ten South Wales gentry and businessmen, that included Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar who was also Lord-Lieutenant of Monmouthshire , and Lord Queenborough ; formed a company to purchase Piercefield House , and lay out a new racecourse in its estate. Despite struggling to raise enough cash, the racecourse was opened on 6 August 1926. The first race was a two-year-old seller won by Lord Harewood 's colt Conca D'Oro,

180-549: A string of good class horses and top trainers and jockeys contested the race. The three and three-quarter mile race, more recently known as the Coral Welsh National, owes much to the support of the bookmaking firm for establishing it as one of the major events in the National Hunt calendar. It have sponsored it for over forty years, making it the second longest continuous race sponsorship. The opening of

216-441: A whole host of other important races have been added to the National Hunt racing season, although many of these are geared towards generating betting turnover in the form of competitive handicaps that attract large numbers of runners. Given the sport's origins, Irish-bred and trained horses remain a dominant force in national hunt racing today. In 2005 and 2006, Irish-trained horses captured the three main prizes at Cheltenham and won

252-654: Is one of 16 racecourses operated by the Arena Racing Company and is home of the richest race in Wales, the Coral Welsh Grand National . The track is a roughly oval circuit of just under 2 miles (3,200 m). It is a left-handed undulating course, used for both flat and jump racing. The finishing straight is about 5 furlongs (3,300 ft; 1,000 m) in length, with five fences on the chase course to be jumped. There are eleven fences on

288-592: Is run after the Gold Cup over the same distance and is often referred to as the amateur Gold Cup. "Point to Point" racing is steeplechase racing for amateurs. Chepstow Racecourse Chepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing course located just north of the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire , Wales , near the southern end of the Wye Valley and close to the border with England. It

324-461: Is run over 4.3 miles (6.9 km). Notably, the 'Liverpool Grand Steeplechase' (to give its original name) was actually initiated in 1836, although the three earliest runnings have been overlooked in many historical chronicles. Organising steeplechasing in Britain, began with annual events being staged cross country over a number of fields, hedges and brooks, the earliest most notable of these being

360-676: Is the Grand National , run at Aintree in April each year. The race is a different sort of contest from the Gold Cup: it is a Grade 3 race, it is run over a distance of more than 4 miles (6.4 km), there are up to 40 runners, the course at Aintree is essentially flat, and the horses are handicapped (the best horses carry the most weight). Perhaps the most fundamental difference is that the Grand National fences are far bigger than

396-831: The Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse ; the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse ; the Welsh National at Chepstow Racecourse ; and the Irish National at Fairyhouse Racecourse . National Hunt racing originated in Ireland , particularly in the southern counties. Early races were mainly two-horse contests known as "pounding races" that became popular in the early 18th century. These involved long trips across country where horses were required to jump whatever obstacles

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432-594: The Severn Bridge and the completion of the M4 motorway made the course more accessible to English racegoers. The Clay family, which had bought Piercefield House in 1861, were involved with the management course since its formation. Listed on the AIM stock market as a plc in the late 1990s, Sir Stanley Clarke built up an 80% stake in the company and then reversed his existing Northern Racing racecourse holdings into

468-420: The 7-4 favourite. The two day flat race meeting had good prize money and was termed "The Welsh Goodwood ". The course nearly had to close down immediately after the first meeting and survived only thanks to a large bank loan guaranteed by the directors. Unforeseen extra costs in laying it out meant that it struggled financially for the first ten years of its existence and yet more contributions were needed from

504-690: The Cheltenham Festival is the Gold Cup . All races run at Cheltenham finish with a long uphill run-in in front of the stands. The Gold Cup is a Grade 1 race, run over a distance of 3 miles 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  furlongs (5.3 km). All horses carry the same weight in the Gold Cup. On numerous occasions the hill at the finish has found out the brave. Famous winners of the Gold Cup include Dawn Run (mare, ridden by Jonjo O'Neill), Arkle , Golden Miller, Best Mate, Desert Orchid & Kauto Star . The highest profile National Hunt race

540-587: The Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle, Chepstow is one of three racecourses in Wales, the others being at Bangor-on-Dee and at Ffos Las . It is also used as a venue for numerous other indoor and outdoor events, such as concerts, weddings and conferences. Several places in South Wales had race meetings in the late nineteenth century and there had been racing at St Arvans , very close to the present course, between 1892 and 1914. In 1925

576-620: The Grand National. Best Mate who captured the Cheltenham Gold Cup three successive times between 2002 and 2004, was Irish-bred, but trained and owned in England . In recent years, French-bred horses have also come to the forefront with horses such as Master Minded becoming the highest rated horse in Britain after winning the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Kauto Star who won the Gold Cup in 2007, 2009 and

612-495: The National Hunt calendar are the Cheltenham Festival meeting and the Grand National meeting. The Cheltenham Festival is held at Cheltenham Racecourse over four days in the second week of March. On Friday, it features eleven grade one races, culminating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup , the most prestigious Chase race in the world. The Grand National meeting is held at Aintree over three days every April. Many of

648-658: The St Albans Steeplechase (first run in 1830). For some years, there was no regulation of steeplechasing . The sport gained a reputation as being a bastard relation of flat-racing and consequently fell into decline. A breakthrough came in the 1860s with the formation of the National Hunt Committee, and the running of the National Hunt Steeplechase. This steeplechase would form part of an annual race-meeting staged at

684-578: The best horses come to these festivals, which are watched by a huge television audience worldwide. Hundreds of millions of pounds are gambled on these festivals . Other important festivals are: the Galway Races – a hugely popular mixed (NH and flat) meeting in Ireland; Punchestown Festival – the Irish equivalent of the Cheltenham Festival; The Tingle Creek at Sandown Park Racecourse ;

720-540: The directors. The first jump racing took place in March 1927. Since then the course has been used for flat racing in the summer and jumping in the winter. To begin with, the flat racing was more prestigious, with the Welsh Derby , Oaks and St Leger being run for good prize money. In 1933, at a two-day meeting, the multiple champion jockey Gordon Richards won eleven consecutive races at Chepstow – all six races on

756-471: The fences at Cheltenham and a number of fences incorporate significant drops. The best known fence is Becher's Brook which is 5 ft (1.5 m) high, but has a 7 ft (2 m) drop on landing and is often regarded as the biggest challenge on the course. Winners of the Grand National include Red Rum (won 3 times:1973, 1974, 1977), runner up twice (1975, 1976)); Mr Frisk (1990, the last winner to date to be ridden by an amateur jockey and still holds

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792-514: The first 3 of a Grade 1 or 2 chase in the previous season from taking part. The two biggest Hunter Chases are the Aintree Fox Hunters' Chase and Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase . The Aintree Fox Hunters' is run as the feature race on the first day of the Grand National meeting over one circuit of the Grand National course. This gives amateur riders the chance to jump these famous fences before the professionals. The Cheltenham Foxhunter

828-494: The first day and the first five races on the next, before being beaten in a close finish in the final race of the meeting. During the Second World War , the entire site became designated as RAF Chepstow , an operational outpost of RAF St. Athan , No. 32 Maintenance Unit RAF and No. 19 Maintenance Unit RAF . Equipped with only a grass runway in the centre of the course, additional aircraft accommodation for bombers

864-560: The fixture. Further prestigious races were added to the card during the 1920s, such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle. As steeplechasing entered its modern era, the Cheltenham Festival became the pinnacle of the season, providing a series of championship races at which virtually all top horses would be targeted. With the introduction of sponsorship (starting with the Whitbread Gold Cup in 1957),

900-734: The horses in the race was also limited to serving or ex-serving members of the armed forces prior to 2023, when the race conditions were changed to remove the restriction. Prior to 2024 the race was run in March. A similar race, the Royal Artillery Gold Cup , is run at Sandown in February. National Hunt racing In the UK , national hunt racing is divided into two major distinct branches, hurdling and steeplechase , as well as flat races called " bumpers ". Hurdling involves horses jumping over hurdles , while steeplechase involves

936-522: The horses jumping over a variety of different obstacles that includes plain fences , water jump or an open ditch. Some of the biggest National Hunt events of the year in the UK are the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup . The National Hunt season primarily occurs during the winter months when softer ground conditions make jumping safer for horses. The horses are significantly cheaper compared to sport horses for other equestrian sports, reason being

972-458: The landscape threw in their way. The first recorded race of this nature is traditionally said to have taken place between the towns of Buttevant and Doneraile in the north of County Cork in 1752. The distance of the race was 4.5 miles (7.2 km). The start and finish were marked by the church steeple in each town, hence the term " steeplechase ". Point-to-point races, amateur steeplechases normally run on farmland, remain hugely popular in

1008-667: The list of Grade 1-3 National Hunt races and the list of Group 1-3 Flat races . The capital of National Hunt racing in the UK is Cheltenham Racecourse , in the Cotswolds , which hosts the Cheltenham Festival in the third week of March each year, as well as other important fixtures during the NH calendar. There are numerous well-known trainers operating in the Cotswolds including Jonjo O'Neill , Richard Phillips, Tom George, Nigel Twiston-Davies, and latterly Kim Bailey. The highlight of

1044-707: The majority are geldings and have no breeding value. Jump Racing primarily takes place in France , Great Britain and Ireland , with some events also taking place in Australia , Canada and the United States . In Ireland, National Hunt racing receives much higher attendances than flat racing, while in Great Britain, it is more balanced, but the different seasons (there is little top-class flat racing in Britain from November to March) mean that most fans of

1080-479: The mêlée occurred is now named "Foinavon Fence"). Other NH races of note include the King George VI Chase , run at Kempton Park on 26 December and the Hennessy Gold Cup run at Newbury at the end of November. Hunter chases take place at national hunt racecourses but are only open to horses that have hunter certificates. Hunter certificates are issued to horses that have hunted for at least four days in

1116-405: The record for the fastest time); Aldaniti (1981, ridden by Bob Champion shortly after he had recovered from cancer. His story was made into a film); and Foinavon (1967, won at odds of 100/1 after a mêlée at the 23rd fence resulted in the majority of the field falling or refusing. Foinavon was far enough behind at that point to avoid the confusion and ran on to win by 20 lengths. The fence where

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1152-429: The same region and in many parts of rural Ireland and Great Britain , today. The first use of the term steeplechase on an official racecard was in Ireland in the early 19th century. The 'official' first running of the Grand National , held annually at Aintree in England, took place in 1839 and was won by an Irish horse, Lottery . The "National", as it is known, was run over 4.5 miles (7.2 km), but since 2013

1188-543: The season before racing starts in January. In addition, the jockey must be an amateur who has obtained a certificate from the hunt secretary. Unlike point-to-points , licensed trainers as well as amateur trainers may have runners in Hunter Chases. This often causes controversy when big name trainers run former Grade 1 horses in Hunter Chases as amateur trainers feel they are unable to compete. New rules which took effect in 2009, will prevent horses which have finished in

1224-421: The sport can enjoy both forms of racing at their pleasure. National Hunt horses are often bred for jumping, while others are former flat horses but they do not have to be Thoroughbreds : many French-bred jumpers are Selle Français or AQPS . Many horses begin their racing careers in amateur point-to-pointing where they compete over steeplechase races of three miles (4.8 km). The two main highlights of

1260-413: Was created at Oakgrove on the opposite side of the road, accessed by stopping the traffic to allow the aircraft to cross. Types stationed on the course during the war included: After the war and the demise of both Cardiff and the nearby Caerleon (Newport) course, the Welsh National was transferred to Chepstow in 1949. From then on, National Hunt racing overtook flat racing as the dominant activity as

1296-486: Was second in 2008 is also French bred. Races are graded depending on their health and mental status. The most prestigious are Grade 1, then Grade 2, Grade 3, Listed, Handicaps, to Bumpers the least prestigious. The more highly graded races attract more prize money and better horses. (In flat racing the more prestigious races are Group 1, 2, and 3, then Listed). All National Hunt races are also classified in classes 1-7 (class 1 best). Graded and listed races are class 1. See

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