What are Alex Greaves’ claims to fame?

Retired lady jockey Alex Greaves was married to the late David ‘Dandy’ Nicholls, a renowned racehorse trainer, but has several claims to fame in her own right. Dubbed the ‘Queen of the Sands’ by the racing press after a raft of early successes on the all-weather tracks, which were newly laid in the late Eighties, Greaves proved anything but a ‘one-trick pony’.

In 1991, Greaves became the first female apprentice – and still one of only a handful – to achieve 95 winners and thereby ride out her apprentice claim. In 1996, as a full-fledged professional, she became the first female jockey to ride in the Derby, albeit finishing last of the twenty runners on rank outsider Portuguese Lil, trained by her husband. In 1997, she also became the first female jockey to ride a Group One winner in Britain; in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York, she delivered Ya Malak, again trained by her husband, to dead-heat with Coastal Bluff, whose bit had broken with a furlong to run. On her retirement from race riding, in March 2005, Alex Greaves had ridden a total of 287 winners.

Which was the most prolific racehorse ever?

Frankel, who was retired from racing in October, 2012, unbeaten in fourteen races – ten of which were at the highest Group One level – was subsequently hailed as the highest-rated in the history of World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, which were introduced in 1977. However, unquestionably brilliant though he was, even Frankel came nowhere near some of the most prolific thoroughbreds – undefeated or otherwise – in the history of horse racing across the globe.

The most prolific racehorse ever appears to have been Galgo Jr., a Puerto Rican thoroughbred who racked up 137 wins from 158 starts between 1930 and 1936, including, unbelievably, an unbeaten sequence of 39 in the space of a year. Next best, in terms of outright wins, comes American Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Kingston, who won 89 of his 138 starts in the late nineteenth century and finished out of the money just four times.

Of the horses which, like Frankel, remained unbeaten throughout their entire racing careers, another Puerto Rican-bred thoroughbred, Camarero, notched up 56 consecutive wins in the 1950s and tops the list. However, the legendary Hungarian mare, Kincsem, who was unbeaten in 54 races all over Europe, including the Goodwood Cup on her only visit to Britain, in a four-year period in the 1870s is a worthy second-best.

What proportion of favourites win?

Across the whole of horse racing, the fact that, on average, approximately one-third of favourites win or, conversely, approximately two-thirds of favourites lose, is well chronicled. However, the proportion of winning favourites varies widely according to the type of race being contested, the number of runners, the odds on offer and so on.

For example, it stands to reason that non-handicap races should produce a higher proportion of winning favourites than handicap races, in which every horse, theoretically, has an equal chance of winning; in fact, in non-handicap races, approximately two-fifths, or 40%, of favourites win. Similarly, it might be expected that the proportion of winning favourites is inversely proportional to the odds on offer and this is, in fact, the case; less than 23% of favourites sent off at 2/1 or longer win, but 45% of those starting at 15/8 or shorter do so, as do 86% of those starting at prohibitive odds of 1/4 or shorter.

Which is the oldest racecourse in Britain?

According to Guinness World Records, the oldest racecourse, still in operation, in Britain is Chester Racecourse, on the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire, North West England. Also known as the ‘Roodee’, or ‘Roodeye’, meaning ‘Island of the Cross’ – a name that dates from the Roman occupation of Chester – the racecourse was established by Henry Gee, a.k.a. ‘The Reforming Mayor of Chester’. The first recorded race was staged on February 9, 1539, during the reign of Henry VIII, and Henry Gee decreed that a horse racing meeting should become an annual event, thereby creating what has since become the oldest continuous venue for the sport in the British Isles.

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