The Betfair Hurdle is a Premier Handicap
National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at
Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and ½ furlong (2 miles and 69 yards, or 3,282 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. It is a
handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February. It currently has a maximum field of 24 runners.
The event was established in 1963, and the inaugural running took place at
Aintree. The race was originally sponsored by
Schweppes
Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
, and it was known as the Schweppes Gold Trophy.
Ryan Price won the first two runnings with Rosyth and trained four of the first five winners of the race. After Rosyth's second win, following four unplaced efforts in between, his jockey was suspended for six weeks and his trainer warned off. More controversy for Price and the Schweppes followed in 1967 when Hill House tested positive for a banned drug. However it was later shown that Hill House had manufactured his own cortisol.
Schweppes' sponsorship continued until 1986 when it was taken over by
Tote Bookmakers (later known as totesport). The race was titled the Tote Gold Trophy from 1987 to 2004, and the totesport Trophy from 2005 to 2011. Since 2012 the race has been sponsored by
Betfair and known as the Betfair Hurdle.
Two winners of the race –
Persian War and Make a Stand – subsequently achieved victory in the following month's
Champion Hurdle
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 ...
. Persian War holds the weight carrying record for the race when winning as a 5 year old in 1968 with 11 stones 13 pounds on his back.
Winners
* ''Weights given in
stones and
pound
Pound or Pounds may refer to:
Units
* Pound (currency), a unit of currency
* Pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom
* Pound (mass), a unit of mass
* Pound (force), a unit of force
* Rail pound, in rail profile
Symbols
* Po ...
s.''
See also
*
Horse racing in Great Britain
*
List of British National Hunt races
*
Recurring sporting events established in 1963
Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things:
Mathematics and finance
*Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure
*Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...
'' – the Betfair Hurdle is included under its original title, Schweppes Gold Trophy.''
References
*
Racing Post
''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...
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pedigreequery.com– ''Totesport Trophy Handicap Hurdle – Newbury.''
– ''Totesport Trophy Handicap Hurdle.''
* {{cite book, title=Ladbrokes Pocket Companion 1990/91, year=1990, publisher=Aesculus Press, isbn=1-871093-21-X, page=53
External links
* Race Recordings 1984–200
National Hunt races in Great Britain
Newbury Racecourse
National Hunt hurdle races
1963 establishments in England