Outline
Most of the National Hunt season takes place in the winter when the softer ground makes jumping less dangerous. The horses are much cheaper, as the majority are geldings and have no breeding value. This makes the sport more popular as the horses are not usually retired at such a young age and thus become familiar to the racing public over a number of seasons.
Jump racing is most popular in Britain, Ireland and France. In Ireland the sport receives much higher attendance levels than flat racing, while in England it is more balanced, but the different seasons (there is little top class flat racing in Britain from November through March) mean that most fans of the sport can enjoy both forms of racing.
National hunt horses are often bred for jumping, while others are former flat horses. National Hunt horses do not have to be Thoroughbreds: many French-bred jumpers are Selle Francais or AQPS. Many horses begin their racing careers in Point-to-Pointing where they compete over steeplechase races of 3 miles.
The two main highlights of the National Hunt Calendar are the Cheltenham Festival meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse, held over four days in the second week of March the festival features eleven Grade one races, culminating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the best and most prestigious Chase race in the world, on the Friday. Also the Grand National meeting, which is held at Aintree over three days every April. Many of 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, the Scottish Grand National at Ayr Racecourse, King George VI Chase at Kempton Park Racecourse, the Welsh National at Chepstow Racecourse, and the Irish National at Fairyhouse Racecourse.
Read more about this topic: National Hunt Racing
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