Features

74th Hunt Racing Day At Montpelier

For the 74th time, hunt racing events will return to the Montpelier estate on Saturday, 1 November 2008, and promises to be a day filled with entertainment, racing action and activities. The Montpelier estate was bought by William DuPont in the year 1901, which was the home of the fourth president of the United States of America, James Madison. Marion DuPont Scott, DuPont’s daughter, continued to live on the estate until her death in 1983, and it was through her love of horses and for the sport of hunt racing, that Montpelier Hunt Races were founded.

International Interest in Melbourne Cup

The Melbourne Cup will be hosted by Flemington Racecourse in Australia on 4 November 2008, and it is one of the most prestigious events of the horse racing calendar. And now, as if an international competitor winning the Caulfield Cup was not enough, a string of foreign horses are being trained for another onslaught; only this time it will be on the Melbourne Cup. However, there are a few local horses that are capable of packing a lethal punch, and it is hoped, that after losing the Caulfield Cup, Australia can redeem themselves next month.

Retired Hall of Famers Entertain The Crowds

Santa Anita Park Racecourse was on fire over the weekend, as racing events to kick off the excitement surrounding the Breeders’ Cup were organized for Saturday, 18 October 2008. But in the ten race lineup on Saturday, there was one race that stood out above the rest. It was a race where the horses did not really matter all that much, as it was all about the eight riders that showed up to take part in the Jockey Living Legends race.

New York Sire Stakes Annual Awards Banquet

The New York Sire Stakes was established in the year 1965 and was the first program in North America to promote and support quality standardbred horse breeding. Many other programs followed their example and the New York Sire Stakes does not only encourage superior breeding programs, but it also rewards breeders and owners and provides purses for a vast number of harness racing events. Through their dedication to the harness racing industry and standardbred horses, breeding excellence has improved, resulting in ongoing improvement in racing itself. To thank the horsemen for their efforts, the New York Sire Stakes started hosting this prestigious Annual Awards Banquet.

War of Attrition Victorious at Punchestown

On Thursday, the 16th of October 2008, Punchestown became the scene of an exciting showdown between two former Cheltenham Gold Cup champions. It was during the Star “Best For Racing Coverage” Chase, that War of Attrition and Kicking King battled it out for supremacy. It is a Grade 3 racing event for four year old horses and older, and is run over a distance of two miles and six furlongs. But the horse racing veterans proved that age is merely a number, and that comebacks are possible in the world of horse racing.

Breeders’ Cup Drug Testing

While Santa Anita Park Racecourse readies itself for next weekend’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, officials have been monitoring the entries to the respective events very closely. With the disappointment of Big Brown being retired, they were relieved to hear that the owners of Curlin have decided to enter him into the race. They are still somewhat concerned about the surface, but feel he is ready. And while most horses have passed their initial Breeders’ Cup tests to qualify for the event, there is one more hurdle to overcome before the big day, namely drug testing.

Charlie Mann Counts on Nadover

The first Velka Pardubicka Steeplechase was held in 1874. It still takes place in the Czech Republic in the town of Pardubice. Every second weekend in October, the best steeplechase horses converge on Pardubice to take part in what is considered to be the most difficult steeplechase race in Europe. Horses must complete a 6.9 kilometer course that has thirty-one obstacles, such as ditches and stone walls, and it takes approximately ten minutes to complete. To qualify for the Velka Pardubicka horses must compete in one of the four qualifying events and have to be seven years or older to be eligible for the race.

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