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Recognized globally as the quintessential English pastime, horse racing is an integral part of the British culture. The spectacle isn’t just about the sport as British horse racing is synonymous with haute cuisine, sophisticated fashion statements, and A-list celebrities including members of the Royal Family.

From the Cheltenham Festival to the Royal Ascot, Britain paves the way for world-class racing events. In this list, we bring you the eight most popular and historically significant British horse racing events.

The Eight Most Prestigious British Horse Racing Events

1. The Royal Ascot – Considered the pillar of British sporting events, the Royal Ascot is held at the Ascot Racecourse during June each year. First organized in 1839, the main event is preceded by a royal procession and is among the most sophisticated races in the country. As of 2019, the Royal Ascot boasted £7.3 million in prize money.
2. Cheltenham Festival – The first major horse racing event in the British calendar, the Cheltenham Festival takes place in March every year. The four-day event is held at the Cheltenham Racecourse and coincides with St. Patrick’s Day, naturally attracting a large portion of Irish spectators.
3. The Grand National – Viewed by approximately 600-million people worldwide each year, The Grand National is part of a three-day National Hunt racing event hosted outside Liverpool. Hosting an average of 150,000 people each year, the event is as colorful as it is unpredictable.
4. Epsom Derby – Hosted for the first time in 1780, the Derby at Epsom still provides an unforgettable spectacle every year. The Downs racecourse hosts the ultimate balance between speed, endurance, and balance with three-year-old thoroughbreds navigating the unique undulations of the horse-shoe shaped track.
5. King’s Stand Stakes – A race for the real speedballs, the King’s Stand Stakes is among the premier five-furlong events held during the Royal Ascot. Open to thoroughbreds aged three and above, the historic event came to be almost by accident. According to legend, due to horrendous weather in 1860, the distance was reduced from two miles to five furlongs and the practice remained henceforth.
6. St Leger – Run at South Yorkshire in September, St Leger is the final Classic of the season and is hosted over one mile, six furlongs, and one hundred thirty-two yards. As the popular saying goes “the fastest horse wins the Guineas, the luckiest the Derby, and the best at St Leger”.
7. 1,000 Guineas Stakes – The second British Classic, 1,000 Guineas Stakes is held a day after 2,000 Guineas Stakes over the same track and distance. This mile-long championship is open to horses aged three and above and was inaugurated in 1814.
8.  2,000 Guineas Stakes – Held during early May every year, 2,000 Guineas Stakes is run over a straight mile at the Rowley Mile track in Newmarket and is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. Along with St Leger and the Derby, the event forms the British-triple crown.

There are many quirks and foibles that make horseracing the greatest sport on earth, and one of those is undoubtedly the freedom that owners and trainers have to bestow whacky and sometimes hilarious names on their horses.

While some are heartfelt homages to a deceased movie star or singer, others match perfectly with a horse’s personality or the landscapes it was reared and trained on.

However, the best – in our humble opinion – are those that have an element of the absurd about them. Here are some of the most fantastic racehorse names ever devised.

There is a long and rich history of giving horses crazy names

 

Arrrrr

This is undoubtedly one of the best, firstly for its simplicity, and secondly for how funny the name sounds when said on racing commentary.

Such was the case when in 2008 when Tom Durkin had to call the horse triumphing at Saratoga racecourse in New York state. The clip has since become a YouTube sensation, with Durkin screaming “arrrrr” like a deranged pirate.

 

Fiftyshadesofhay

When punters go in search of a horse to back they tend to follow a routine of checking the form guide, reading tips from trusted racing sources, and then often abandon all logic by just plumping for a horse with a catchy name.

For the punters who did that with this filly – named after a racy literary phenomenon – they came up smelling of roses, with the horse winning five of her twenty starts and bringing home over $1 million in prize money.

Given the chance, what would you call your very own racehorse?

 

Maythehorsebewithu

Another beautiful amalgamation of words here that make up something similar to the immortal phrase once muttered by a Jedi master to his young Padawan.

Star Wars fans were sold on the horse before it even started trotting out to the starting gates. The force was strong with this one too, because he managed to come fifth in the Melbourne Cup.

 

Passing Wind

There must be something in the air in New Zealand, because Maythehorsebewithu was bred there along with Passing Wind, the latter trumping the field on a few occasions during a long racing career.

Perhaps the horse’s name instilled such fear into its rivals – so that they never wanted to be trailing the flatulent gelding – meant he never quite bagged the amount of prize money his owners would have hoped for. Luckily for Passing Wind, farting is healthy and natural for horses, but try telling that to his stable hand.

Horse racing fans of different generations will all have their own opinion on who is the greatest Flat horse of all time in the sport. Here is a breakdown on some of the best thoroughbreds that have excelled on turf and deserve to be in the conversation for this title.

Nijinsky

In 1970, Nijinsky became the first horse in 35 years to win the English Triple Crown. He remains the last horse to score in all three of those races (2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger). The success he had in the Classics shows how versatile he was on the track as the distances ranged from 1m up to 1m6f.

Nijinsky immediately showed how talented he was in his debut season as he won all five of his races, earning him the tag of the outstanding two-year-old in Europe in 1969. Vincent O’Brien’s runner then built upon that campaign with an incredible year in 1970.

The fact that no horse has been able to repeat what Nijinsky did 50 years ago says a lot about his talent. He will forever be remembered in the sport as a special horse.

Dancing Brave

When Dancing Brave retired in 1986, jockey Pat Eddery described him as ‘a horse of a lifetime’, which is some claim when you consider he is one of the most successful jockeys of all time.

Dancing Brave won eight of his 10 races on the track, including success in the 1986 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. That year’s premier Flat race in Paris was considered to be one of the best ever contested, so to come out on top was a great achievement.

The 1986 British Horse of the Year also had wins in the 2000 Guineas, Eclipse Stakes and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in what was a spectacular three-year-old campaign.

Although there were defeats in the Derby and Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1986, few have come close to matching the season he had that year, so he deserves to be in this conversation.

Shergar

Shergar went into the 1981 Derby with a big reputation, and he enhanced it even further with the most dominant display ever seen in the British Classic.

Wins followed in the Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which ensured Sir Michael Stoute’s runner’s value skyrocketed. His last race came in the St Leger, where he could only finish fourth. The ground was against him at Doncaster and it was over a longer trip than was ideal.

Stoute continues to have some talented horses. Maximal is the latest from his yard to show promise and has been installed at 33/1 by Betway in the Derby betting for 2021. It is Shergar though, who is the best runner to represent his yard and he will still be hoping to train another horse that comes close to his talent.

Unfortunately, Shergar was subject to a huge global news story in 1983, which was even reported by the New York Time when he was stolen from his stable and was never seen again. The reason he was targeted was that he was the most famous horse in the world at the time. His legacy lives on today and although he only featured eight times during his career, he did enough to prove what a special talent he was.

Sea The Stars

Sea The Stars produced a dominant campaign in 2009 to merit his name amongst the all-time greats in the sports. The son of Cape Cross picked up wins in the 2000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse, International Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Irish-trained horse raced nine times, winning eight of those contests. His sole defeat came on his debut at the Curragh where he was green and had to settle for fourth place in the two-year-old race.

Connections wasted no time during 2009 as they allowed their horse to reel off his series of victories across the Flat season. He is the first horse to win the 2000 Guineas, Derby and Arc treble, and he beat some very good horses along the way during his time on the track.

Frankel

If ratings alone were used to judge the greatest Flat horse in history, Frankel would claim the prize. The dominant miler was rated 140 by the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings Committee, the highest rating ever given out.

Trained by the late Sir Henry Cecil in Newmarket, Frankel was unbeaten on the track after 14 races. The majority of those wins were dominant displays as he blew his rivals away.

Frankel produced one of the most spectacular performances ever seen in a British Classic in the 2000 Guineas in 2011. Under the hands of Tom Queally, the pair set a ferocious gallop which he maintained throughout the 1m to score by six lengths.

Since retiring, Frankel has gone on to have a good career at stud. He has produced multiple Group One winners, including Anapurna who won the Oaks at Epsom in 2019.

With all five of the above having a strong argument for being the greatest Flat horse, the debate will go on amongst horse racing fans. Hopefully, the sport will see some more contenders on this list in the near future.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is regarded as one of the ultimate tests of stamina in horse racing. Not only must horses tackle over 3 miles of course and 22 fences; they must also battle an energy-sapping uphill finish to claim the prize. Moreover, they must do this in the company of the best long-distance chasers in the business.

We know, of course, that winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup is an incredible feat, but what about doing so in record time? Due to the different tactics employed and the impact of the ground, horse racing doesn’t look at finishing times in the same manner as, say, Olympic sprinting. Nevertheless, it’s pretty impressive when a horse goes hell for leather in a race designed to defeat those without true stamina.

Below we are going to look at some of those fastest and most-notable Gold Cup times. MansionBet has a quiz on the most-recent Gold Cup winners if you want to refresh your memory on the subject, but we are going to examine the fastest winners of the biggest prize jumps racing.

Poet Prince Holds the Old Course Record

The record finishing time actually goes to a little-known horse, Poet Prince, who clocked in at an incredible 6:15.60 in 1941. This was run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, and the 1941 renewal was not seen as a quality race for various reasons, including the fact that the Second World War was casting a shadow over proceedings. Still, Poet Prince, owned by the legendary Dorothy Paget, will always have this claim to fame.

In 2011, Long Run became the first horse to complete the race on the New Course in under six and a half minutes, clocking in at 6:29.70. When you think about it, Long Run almost had to do it quicker than usual as he faced a field containing Kauto Star, Denman and Imperial Commander. In the end, Nicky Henderson’s 6-year-old finished 7 lengths ahead of Denman, completing the quickest Gold Cup time for the New Course (since 1959).

 

Other horses have come pretty close to breaking the 6:30 mark before. The closest before Long Run and Poet Prince was none other than Golden Miller in 1935, who clocked in at 6:30.00 exactly when winning his fourth Gold Cup. Golden Miller only squeezed home by ¾ of a length ahead of Thomond II and 5 lengths ahead of Kellsboro’ Jack. So, you’d imagine that both of those horses did enough in terms of time to win a Gold Cup in a normal year. It’s just unfortunate that their careers coincided with that of one of the greatest in history.

L’Escargot Crawled Home in 1971

Generally speaking, the times have got faster over the years. Over seven minutes was the norm in the early years. Easter Hero was the first to break the seven-minute mark when winning in 1929 with a time of 6:57.00. Once the switch to the New Course happened in 1959, clocking times of between 6:30 and 7:00 seemed to be the norm, with a few exceptions.

 

As for the slowest Gold Cup winner? It’s the aptly named L’Escargot, who finished the race in 8:00.60 in 1971. Remarkably, L’Escargot was a considerable distance ahead of the field. The time was a full one minute 15 seconds longer than L’Escargot’s 1970 victory. As for the last winner? Al Boum Photo clocked in at 6:50.38 when taking his second Gold Cup in March 2020.