Jump races or National Hunt races are races that include obstacles for the horse to negotiate. There are two types of obstacles, hurdles and fences. Jump racing in Ireland takes place all year round. National Hunt races are held over a variety of distances from two to four miles and one furlong.
The longest race in Ireland is the La Touche Cup which is held over the unique banks course at the Punchestown festival in late April.
The Flat Racing seasons runs every year from the day of the Lincoln Handicap to the the day of the November Handicap in late October or early November. This is the official flat season, but the winter flat season runs for the rest of the year. As stated before the first main meeting on the Flat is the Lincoln meeting at Doncaster.
The Lincoln is a handicap race over a straight mile for four year olds and upwards, and is seen somewhat as a cavalry charge — a good gambling race as there are normally at least twenty runners. They are both run over a mile, with the Guineas open to Fillies, and the Guineas is open to both Fillies and Mares although Fillies rarely run in the Guineas nowadays.
In early May there is a three day meeting held at Chester, with the highlight races being the Chester Cup and the Cheshire Oaks, and in mid May, there is the three day May meeting at York, with the highlights being the Musidora Stakes, the Dante Stakes and the Yorkshire Cup.
In early June the Derby Festival takes place at Epsom. One of the highlights of the Flat Racing season, featuring both the Derby and the Oaks. On the Saturday the Epsom Derby takes place. Seen as the Blue Riband event of the season, with a huge worldwide audience, this is again over a mile and a half, with entries open to both Mares and Fillies 3 years old , and considered the most prestigious of the five Classics.
Later in June, Royal Ascot takes place. This is a five day meeting from Tuesday to Saturday and named Royal Ascot as members of the British monarchy attend this meeting daily. In September the St Leger meeting takes place at Doncaster. The St Leger is the final classic of the season, run over one miles and six furlongs, and is open to both three year old Fillies and Mares, being the final leg of the Triple Crown Guineas and Oaks being the first two legs for Fillies, and the Guineas and the Derby for Mares , although this feat is rarely attempted.
Softer ground conditions provide a safer environment for National Hunt racing, with a slightly softer landing should a horse come unstuck at an obstacle. Conversely, the summer months are centred around the flat, with just a handful of summer jumps meetings punctuating the plethora of cards on the level.
With many flat horses bred for speed more on that later , a firmer, or sounder, surface provides horses with more suitable underfoot conditions to show a turn of foot. Although there is generally jumps racing 12 months of the year, the majority of National Hunt fixtures take place in the Autumn and Winter months. The bigger meetings tend to start at the back-end of October, running through to April, the end of this month marking the official end of the campaign.
The Jockey and Trainers Championships for the current season ran from 5th May until 25th April , with any wins going towards their tallies in search of the top individual prize. Flat racing is actually held year-round. All-weather racing is a relatively new addition to the calendar with meetings being held on synthetic surfaces since Although there are meetings throughout the year, the all-weather provides flat jockeys the opportunity to pick up some earnings throughout the winter when jumps take over the turf courses.
In Britain there are 59 racecourses. There are six tracks which host all-weather racing in the UK, with all-but Wolverhampton and Chelmsford also hosting jumps racing. Some will be flatter, whilst others such as Cheltenham provide undulations and a stiff climb at the finish. While the direction of travel may not seem to be of major importance, some horses will often show better form going left-handed or vice versa.
Lambourn in Berkshire is probably the biggest single hub for National Hunt trainers, although handlers are based all over the country.
The focal point of the National Hunt season is undoubtedly the Cheltenham Festival, with the track in Gloucestershire host four days of top class racing. The fundamental differences between flat and jumps racing comes in the form of the contests that the participants take part. From the starting procedure, to the distance a race will be run to the presence of obstacles in the contest, there are numerous variations.
The distance a race is run over depends very much on which banner of racing it is run under. The longest of these contests on the flat is the Queen Alexandra Stakes, held at Royal Ascot, which is a petrol-sapping two-mile, five-and-a-half furlong race that is often won by trainers more well known for training jumpers.
That anomaly is because in jumps racing, two miles or a few yards shorter is the minimum trip for a race over obstacles. Some contests take place over double that, with a handful of examples pitting horses against a stamina-draining four mile plus course, the longest of which is the Grand National, run over four miles, two-and-a-half furlongs.
Hurdles races and Chases are the two defined branches of jumps racing. Typically a horse will race over hurdles before graduating to chases and tackling the larger obstacles. Standing at around three feet tall, hurdles are the first introduction to jumping on course for most horses. Most hurdles in the UK are made up of several panels of brush which are flexible if kicked over or flicked as a horse attempts to jump it. Jumps horses will generally begin their jumps careers over hurdles.
Some will simply remain hurdlers for their careers, while others will eventually competed over fences in chases.
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