How fast are horses?

On average, young, healthy, well-conditioned horses gallop at between 25 and 30 miles per hour. However, according to Guinness World Records, the fastest speed ever recorded by a racehorse was the 43.97 miles per hour achieved by the two-year-old throughbred filly, Winning Brew, at Penn National Racecourse in Grantville, Pennsylvania in May, 2008. Trained by Francis Vitale, covered two furlongs, or a quarter of a mile, in 20.57 seconds.

Of course, despite the American penchant for horse races well short of five furlongs – in some cases as short as a furlong, or even half a furlong – the minimum distance in many racing territories, including Britain, is five furlongs, or five eighths of a mile. Again, according to Guinness World Records, the fastest time recorded over five furlongs was the 53.69 achieved by the four-year-old Stone Of Folca at Epsom Racecourse in Surrey in June, 2012. Trained by John Best and ridden by Luke Morris, Stone Of Folca averaged 41.67 miles per hour en route to the fastest time recorded on a British racecourse since the advent of electronic timing.

When was a British Classic first screened on terrestrial television?

The first British Classic to be screened on terrestrial television was the Derby at Epsom. Indeed, the 1931 renewal of the ‘Blue Riband’ event, staged on Wednesday, June 3, was the subject of the first television outside broadcast or, in other words, the first television programme broadcast live, on location, anywhere in the world. The Baird Television Company, under the auspices of John Logie Baird, the Scottish engineer who became known as ‘The Father of Television’, provided the pictures, which were transmitted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) via the medium-wave radio transmitter at Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire. BBC Radio had first broadcast the Derby, along with the Grand National, in 1927, but the BBC Television Service was not officially launched until November, 1936.

In any event, the ‘King’s Birthday Derby’, run on the sixty-sixth birthday of King George V, was won by the 7/2 favourite, Cameronian, owned by J. Arthur Dewar, trained by Fred Darling and ridden by Freddie Fox. Television viewers were treated to a thrilling finish, with the 2,000 Guineas winner edging out well-fancied rivals Orpern and Sandwich by three-quarters of a length and the same. The following year, still some years before the advent of public television broadcasts, the Derby was shown, live, on closed-circuit television at the now demolished Metropole Kinema, in Victoria Street, central London.

Which are the biggest outsiders to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

Unlike, say, the Grand National, which has been a handicap for most of its existence, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a conditions, or weight-for-age, steeplechase. Horses aged six years and upwards carry 11st 10lb, five-year-olds carry 11st 8lb and mares receive a 7lb allowance so, as might be expected, the ‘Blue Riband’ event of the British National Hunt calendar is rarely won by an outsider.

Far and away the biggest outsider to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup since it was first run, as a steeplechase, in 1924, was Norton’s Coin, who defied odds of 100/1 when defeating Toby Tobias and Desert Orchid by three-quarters of a length and four lengths in 1990. Owned and trained by Sirrell Griffiths, a dairy farmer and permit-holder based in Nantgaredig in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales, Norton’s Coin was described, justifiably, as the ‘Shock of the Century’ on the front page of the ‘Racing Post’ the following day.

Indeed, in the entire history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup no other horse has won at odds longer than 33/1; the two 33/1 winners were Gay Donald, trained by Jim Ford, in 1955 and L’Escargot, trained by Dan Moore, in 1970. Cool Ground, trained by Toby Balding, prevailed at odds of 25/1 in 1992, as Cool Dawn, trained by Robert Alner, in 1998, but the only other winners that could be classified as ‘outsiders’ were the 20/1 winners Mr.

Mulligan in 1997 and Lord Windermere in 2014.

What is an annual member?

As the name suggests, an annual member is a horse racing enthusiast who purchases an annual members’ badge from a racecourse. Annual members receive free entry to most, or all, of the fixtures at their chosen racecourse, either for a calendar year or for the duration of a season, plus a whole host of other benefits. Many racecourses offer exclusive facilities for annual members, including an annual members’ bar or lounge, often with complimentary tea, coffee, newspapers and racecards on racedays, and dedicated annual members’ car parking.

Obviously, the exact details of annual membership vary from one racecourse to the next but, aside from value for money for the badge holder, some racecourses offer transferable guest badges at no extra charge, or an opportunity to buy members’ guest tickets at a greatly reduced rate. In addition, annual membership typically include a selection of exchange, or reciprocal, days, offering free admission to other racecourses up and down the country on specific, nominated days of the year. Arena Racing Company (ARC), for example, offers free admission to all its 16 racecourses for annual members of any one of them. Other ‘perks’ of annual membership include exclusive discounts, offers and promotions, including on racecourse hospitality, plus stable visits, coach trips and other events.

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