National Hunt Racecourses

National Hunt Racecourses just like their flat counter parts come in all shapes and sizes. Flat tracks, speed tracks, undulating tracks and those racecourses where stamina is at a premium.

But there is the added factor of obstacles to negotiate, Hurdles are the lesser of the two with speed being the optimum requirement, hurdles can sometimes be flattened by horses jumping low and fast but still able to stay on its feet whereas a steeple chase fence needs a lot more respect shown to it, some fences come with a ditch in front of the them called an open ditch which can find out dodgy jumpers or those runners meeting the fence on the wrong stride.

Under certain weather conditions, National Hunt Racecourses can be subject to a fair bit of change from that shown on racecourse maps, a lot of rain can cause unsafe ground coming to a fence or on the landing side which will often cause the clerk of the course to omit the fence for that meeting, the same applies to frost where the track has had little exposure to the Sun in certain parts.

Running rails are often moved to keep parts of the track fresh for future meetings, so changes to national hunt racecourses can have quite an effect on race day especially when the last fence has been omitted making for a longer run-in to the winning line which may suit some horses and be a negative factor for those horses which rely on jumping ability to gain a winning edge but which lack natural flat speed.

Race day conditions play an important role when assessing the race card for possible betting opportunities.

Websites like the Racing Post and Betfair provide morning updates and the racing channels, Attheraces and Racing UK are a mine of information with reports from the tracks being covered by the respective channels that day.