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Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. It usually coincides with Saint Patrick's Day and is particularly popular with Irish visitors. The meeting features several Grade I races including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and Stayers' Hurdle. Large amounts of money are gambled; hundreds of millions of pounds are bet over the course of the week. Cheltenham is noted for its atmosphere, including the "Cheltenham roar", which refers to the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival. History Origins The Cheltenham Festival originated in 1860 when the National Hunt Chase was first held at Market Harborough. It was initially titled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champion Hurdle (13179141823)
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong (2 miles and 87 yards, or ), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is the last leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and is scheduled to take place each year on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March. As its title suggests, the Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdling event in the National Hunt calendar. Its list of winners features many of the most highly acclaimed hurdlers in the sport's history, and several of these, such as National Spirit, Istabraq, Hatton's Grace, Persian War and Lanzarote, have had races named in their honour. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online gambling operator Unibet, the race is now known as the Unibet C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triumph Hurdle
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong (2 miles and 179 yards, or 3,382 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for juvenile novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. It is the leading event in the National Hunt calendar to be exclusively contested by juveniles, and it is the opening race on the final day of the Festival. History The event was established in 1939, and it was originally held at Hurst Park in Surrey. During the early part of its history it was regularly contested by horses trained in France – six of the first seven winners were French-based. The flat racing jockey Lester Piggott achieved one of his twenty hurdle victories in this race in 1954. Hurst Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001 United Kingdom Foot-and-mouth Outbreak
The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside. Over 6 million cows and sheep were killed in an eventually successful attempt to halt the disease. Cumbria was the worst affected area of the country, with 893 cases. With the intention of controlling the spread of the disease, public rights of way across land were closed by order. This damaged the popularity of the Lake District as a tourist destination and led to the cancellation of that year's Cheltenham Festival, as well as the British Rally Championship for the 2001 season and delaying that year's general election by a month. Crufts, the dog-based festival had to be postponed by 2 months from March to May 2001. By the time that the disease was halted in October 2001, the crisis was estimated to have cost the United Kingdom £8bn. Background Britain's l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mildmay Of Flete Challenge Cup
The Magners Plate Handicap Chase is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 127 yards, or 4,139 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. History The race was established in memory of the 2nd Baron Mildmay of Flete (1909–1950), an amateur National Hunt jockey who rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival. The inaugural race took place in April 1951, because the planned running, in March, had to be abandoned, due to a waterlogged course. It was originally titled the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase. The Racing Post sponsored the race from 2006 to 2008, and during this period it was titled the Racing Post Plat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup
The Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup is a National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain for amateur riders; it is open to horses aged five years or older. The chase is run on the New Course at Cheltenham, over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (5,230 metres) and, during its running, there are twenty-one fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. The event was established in 1946 and it was originally called the Kim Muir Amateur Riders' Steeplechase. It was introduced by Mrs Evan Williams and was named in memory of her brother, Kim Muir, a cavalry officer who lost his life during World War II. The name of Fulke Walwyn was added to the title in 1991. This was in honour of the highly successful trainer, whose 211 victories at Cheltenham included 40 at the Festival. Only professional jockeys competed in the 2021 running as amateur riders wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St James's Place Foxhunter Chase
The St James's Place Festival Hunters' Chase is a National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain for amateur riders which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs (3 miles 2 furlongs and 70 yards, or 5,294 metres), and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped. It is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. The event is contested over the same course and distance as the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it is sometimes referred to as the "amateur Gold Cup". It was established in 1904, and the inaugural running was won by Palmy Boy. It was backed by the insurance company Sun Alliance and London in 1972 and 1973, and for the following five years it was run without a sponsor. The art auctioneers Christie's supported the race from 1979 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2015 it was sponsored by the Country Gentlem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baracouda
Baracouda was a top staying hurdler for racehorse trainer François Doumen in the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century. Amongst his major successes, he won the Stayers Championship, the World Hurdle twice, as well as winning 10 consecutive races between November 2000 and November 2002. He holds the record for winning Ascot's Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle 4 times (one won at Windsor during Ascot redevelopment). Races A low-key Flat performer in France he was sent to trainer François Doumen after finishing 5th on hurdles debut at Auteuil. He would win three (including Grade 2) and finish second three times (including Grade 1) in his first half dozen starts for Doumen. Next up was a visit to Britain where Doumen had been so synonymous with success down the years. As a 5yo novice he went into Ascot's Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle in December against seasoned and top class staying hurdlers. He treated them with disdain winning by 14 lengths from favourite Deano's Beeno. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flat Racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity. Horse races vary widely in format, and many countries have developed their own particular traditions around the sport. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces, and running in different gaits. In some races, horses are assigned different weights to carry to reflect differences in ability, a process known as handicapping. While horses are sometimes raced purely for sport, a major part of horse racing's interest and economic importance is in the gambling associated with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and three Grade 1 Jumps races. Ascot Racecourse is visited by approximately 600,000 people a year, accounting for 10% of all UK racegoers. The racecourse covers , leased from the Crown Estate and enjoys close associations with the British Royal Family, being founded in 1711 by Queen Anne and located approximately from Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II used to visit the Ascot Racecourse quite frequently, sometimes even betting on the horses. Ascot currently stages 26 days of racing over the course of the year, comprising 18 flat meetings between April and October, and 8 jump meetings between October and March. The Royal Meeting, held in June each year, remains the highlight of the British summer social calendar. The prestigious King Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RSA Chase
The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 80 yards, or 4,901 metres), and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. History The event was originally known as the Broadway Novices' Chase, and this became the race's registered title in 2021, but since the mid-1960s it has been run under various sponsored titles. From 1964 to 1973 it was sponsored by the Tote, and it was called the Totalisator Champion Novices' Chase. From 1974 to 2020 it was backed by the RSA Insurance Group, and its predecessors Sun Alliance (1974–1996) and Royal & SunAlliance (1997–2008). Since 2021 the race has been sponsored by Brown Advisory and Meriebel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arkle Challenge Trophy
The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile, 7 furlongs and 199 yards, or ), and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. It is the leading minimum-distance chase for novices in the National Hunt calendar. It is the second race on the opening day of the festival. History The Arkle Challenge Trophy was introduced as a replacement for the Cotswold Chase, a previous event at the Cheltenham Festival, in 1969. Its title pays tribute to Arkle, a three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the mid-1960s. The race was formerly scheduled to be run on the second day of the Festival, but it was switched to its slot on the opening day in 1980. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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