Which is the oldest of the ‘championship’ races run at the Cheltenham Festival?

The ‘championship’ or ‘feature’ races run at the Cheltenham Festival are, of course, the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, inaugurated in 1924, and the Champion Hurdle, inaugurated in 1927, were both introduced on the direction of Clerk of the Course Frederick Cathcart, who probably did more than anyone else to raise the profile of the Cheltenham Festival.

The original incarnation of the Stayers’ Hurdle, known as the ‘Stayers’ Selling Hurdle’, was first run at the Cheltenham Festival in 1912, but the race took on a more recognisable form as the ‘Spa Hurdle’ – not to be confused with the Spa Novices’ Hurdle, a.k.a. the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – in 1946. In 1972, the Spa Hurdle was renamed the Stayers’ Hurdle and, apart from an 11-year period when it was renamed the ‘World Hurdle’, has been known by that title ever since.

The two-mile steeplechasing championship, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, was inaugurated in 1959, when it was known simply as the ‘National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase’. However, in 1980, the race was renamed to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was a lifelong supporter of National Hunt racing, particularly steeplechasing.

In which year was the Cheltenham Gold Cup first televised?

The brainchild of Frederick Cathcart who was, at the time, Clerk of the Course at Prestbury Park, the Cheltenham Gold Cup was first run, as a steeplechase, in 1924. Remarkably, British Pathé News cameras were on hand to record the victory of Red Splash, with the footage later shown in cinemas as part of the weekly newsreel. That was, of course, before the advent of television and televised National Hunt racing did not become a regular feature until much later in the twentieth century.

In fact, it was not until after World War II, in 1948, that Sandown Park became the first British racecourse to host televised National Hunt racing. However, televised racing proved highly popular with armchair viewers and ad men soon recognised the potential of National Hunt racing as an advertising medium. In 1957, the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, now the Ladbrokes Trophy, became the first sponsored race but, even before then, the 1955 Cheltenham Gold Cup had already been broadcast on BBC television, complete with commentary from the inimitable Sir Peter O’Sullevan. The winner was 33/1 outsider Gay Donald, who came home ten lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer, Halloween, with jockey Tony Grantham looking around for dangers throughout the last half mile.

What is a ‘Round Robin’ bet?

What is a 'Round Robin' bet?  Not to be confused with a ‘Round Robin’ tournament, in which each participant plays every other participant, a ‘Round Robin’ bet is a multiple bet, which combines three selections in ten individual bets. Those individual bets are three doubles, one treble and three ‘single-stakes-about’ bets, each of which is actually a pair of bets. The doubles and treble are straightforward enough, but the single-stakes-about bets can be a source of confusion for anyone unfamiliar with ‘any-to-come’ or ‘if-cash’ betting.

For three selections, A, B and C, the ‘any-to-come’ elements of a Round Robin bet are 1-point win A, any-to-come 1-point win B, and vice versa, making two bets, and so on for selections A and C and B and C, making a total of six bets in all. In each pair of single-stakes-about bets, the stake on each selection depends on the success, or failure, of the other selection in the pair. If selection A wins, you effectively double your stake on selection B, while retaining the profit from your winning bet on selection A. If selection A loses, there is nothing to come and the first part of the two-part bet is a loser. Furthermore, even if selection B wins, you still effectively double your stake on selection A, so you lose your entire stake on that pair of bets.

What is Tattersalls?

Tattersalls, formerly Tattersall’s, is nowadays the leading bloodstock auctioneer in Europe, offering 10,000 throughbreds for sale each year through its sales rings at Park Paddocks, Newmarket and Old Fairyhouse, Co. Meath. The business was founded, at Hyde Park Corner, London in 1766 by Richard Tattersall and became a meeting place for racing men, including the future King George IV.

In 1865, the business moved to Knightsbridge and, in 1965, to Newmarket, and began holding auctions in Ireland in 1988. In 2016, Tattersalls celebrated its 250th anniversary and continues to thrive. Although the modern business attracts an international audience, from 50 different countries, Tattersalls retains the fundamental values of an essentially British, family-owned company, which is what it was for much of its existence.

Tattersall’s is also the name of an enclosure on many racecourses, situated between the Members’ Enclosure and the Silver Ring and home to the main betting ring. The Tattersall’s Enclosure, or ‘Tatts’ for short, takes its name from the aforementioned Richard Tattersall, who reserved two so-called ‘subscription rooms’ for members of the Jockey Club in his original premises; there, his patrons could conduct financial transactions or, in other words, bet and settle bets, in comfort and would continue to do so for decades afterwards.

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