Haydock Park Racecourse, in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, North West England is a dual-purpose venue hosting top-class Flat and National Hunt racing throughout the year. On the Flat, the principal race is the Sprint Cup, which was established in 1966, but switched to early September in 1979 and to the straight six-furlong course, which opened that year, in 1986. The Sprint Cup was promoted to Group 1 status in 1988 and incorporated into the British Champion Stakes in 2011.
Haydock racecourse also plays host to three prestigious Group 2 races during the spring and summer months. In chronological order, they are the Temple Stakes, open horses aged three years and upwards and run over five furlongs in May, the Sandy Lane Stakes, open to three-year-olds and run over six furlongs in late May or early July and the Lancashire Oaks, run over a mile and a half and open to fillies and mares aged three years and upwards.
Under National Hunt Rules, the Betfair Chase, open to horses aged five years and upwards and run over three miles and one-and-a-half furlongs in November, has the distinction of being the first Grade 1 steeplechase of the season. Indeed, along with the King George VI Chase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Bowl, it is one of just four Grade 1 races in the staying chasing division run in Britain. Of course, jump racing takes place all year ’round and early on, in May, the Swinton Handicap Hurdle, a Premier Handicap worth £80,000, is the feature contest on the sole mixed Flat and National Hunt card staged in Britain.
