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List of British National Hunt races

A list of notable National Hunt horse races which take place annually in Great Britain, under the authority of the British Horseracing Authority, including all races which currently hold Grade 1, 2 or Premier Handicap status, with distances shown in miles and furlongs (rounded to the nearest half-furlong).

History of the National Hunt Pattern

A National Hunt (NH) Pattern of important races was first recognized in 1964 when the Horserace Betting Levy Board made a grant of £64,000 to fund a "prestige race allocation" split between the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Grand National. In 1968 a Jump Racing Pattern Committee headed by Lord Leverhulme recommended the creation of a formal NH Pattern, which came into being in 1969 with 14 races initially. The Pattern underwent further revisions in the 1980s and was subject to a major change in 1989 when the Jockey Club, the governing body of British horseracing at the time, overhauled the Pattern to create a mid-season and season-ending Grade 1 race in each of twelve categories, with lead-up Grade 2 races and a set of 14 major handicaps of Grade 3 status. This forms the basis of the current Pattern, which has since been subject to further changes in status and number of races, most recently for the 2023–24 season. Major changes took place in the 2022–23 season when the Grade 3 handicaps were renamed Premier Handicaps and Listed handicaps were removed from the pattern, either becoming Premier Handicaps or being downgraded to Class 2 status.

Grade 1

Grade 2

Premier Handicaps

Listed

Conditions, novices, juveniles & sales

Criteria for inclusion;

  • Class 2 conditions, novice or juvenile races worth £50,000 or more, or £40,000 or more and are of historical importance.
  • Any sales race.
  • Other conditions, novice or juvenile races with a linked article.

Other selected handicaps

Criteria for inclusion;

  • Class 2 or Class 3 races worth £50,000 or more run between mid-October and the end of the season, or £40,000 or more between the start of the season and mid-October.
  • Races worth £34,000 or more which are a course's most important race of the season or which have historical importance.
  • All Class 2 or Class 3 Regional Grand National races, and any Cross-Country race.
  • Other handicap races with a linked article.

Hunter Chase Triple Crown

Discontinued

‡ Prize money figures in italics are from the previous season.

References