WELSH GATEHOUSE
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EVENTS AT CHEPSTOW
RACECOURSE
Chepstow Racecourse hosts a mixture of Jump and
National Hunt race meetings throughout the year. The highlight of Chepstow`s
year is the Welsh National meeting, held in late December, which is the richest
and most prestigious race meeting in Wales. The Welsh Grand National is a Grade
3 handicap steeplechase, run over 3 miles 5= furlongs and open to horses which
are 4-years old or above. It is a stiff test, with 22 fences to be jumped in
the race. The race was first run at Ely Racecourse in Cardiff in 1895 and moved
to its current venue in 1949.The event is often contested by horses which also
run in the Aintree Grand National. Several have won both races, most recently
Silver Birch, who won the Chepstow feature in 2004 and went on to Aintree glory
in 2007. Other notable Welsh National winners include the 1982 victor,
Corbiere, who went on to make Jenny Pitman the first successful female trainer
in the Aintree Grand National the following season. The same trainer was
successf! ul with Burrough Hill Lad in 1983, who completed an unusual double by
winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the following March. The 2009 meeting is
scheduled for Monday 28th December 2009, with the first race at 12:20 p.m.
Other highlights of the season at Chepstow include:
Silver Trophy Day - Saturday 24th October
This is a great way to
spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon with friends or family. The programme
contains seven jump races and promises to be an exciting afternoon of racing.
The feature race of the afternoon is the valuable Silver Trophy race, a listed
handicap hurdle.
Winter Wonderland Raceday - Saturday 5th
December
Enjoy exciting, live jump racing as well as browsing the
Christmas food and drink market. A great day for all the family. Visit Father
Christmas in his grotto, try your luck at the snowball coconut shy and ride
Rudolph on the rodeo. Hopefully, pay for Christmas too, with reliable
horse betting tips.