Horse Racing Guide

There are two forms of horseracing most available to punters: Flat and National Hunt.

Flat Racing
The season starts on grass in late March with the first big race being the Lincoln Handicap. It goes on through to autumn with the Doncaster November handicap being the last big race. During the winter months all weather racing takes place. Punters should be careful, because the 3 all weather circuits have different surfaces. A horse may perform well on one all weather track but less well on another. Often the horses racing on all weather tend to be nags rather than the quality horses. However, in the springtime some decent horses may be preparing for the oncoming grass season on the all weather scene.

Flat races are run over distances from 5 furlong up to 2 mile 6 furlong. Races are organised so that horses of similar ability race against one another.

National Hunt or Jumps Racing
Unlike flat racing National Hunt races have a minimum distance of 2miles. The main difference however is that horses in National Hunt races have to jump obstacles. These will either be hurdles or fences and there will be at least 8 obstacles in every race. For most, the highlight of the National Hunt season is the Grand National. 'The National' is run at Aintree covering a distance of 4 miles 4 furlongs and including 30 of the most difficult obstacles in racing.

Horses are not raced over hurdles until they are at least 4 years old and won't reach their peak until they are 8 years old. For this reason National Hunt horses do not have much value for breeding and there are no Classic races.

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