The Boat Race (the name comes from rower and Boat Club president John Goldie, 1849–1896, after whom the Goldie Boathouse is named). The women's reserve crews are "Osiris "(Oxford) and "Blondie "(Cambridge). The Henley Boat Races, usually held a week before the Boat Race, host the lightweight men's and women's races and their reserve races. There is also an intercollegiate men's and women's race. A veterans' boat race, usually held on a weekday before the main Boat Race, takes place on the Thames between Putney and Hammersmith. Training for the Boat Race officially begins in September, before the start of term. The first
The Boat Race 2019 (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the Championship Course, between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in south-west London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and broadcast worldwide. Cambridge will go into the race as champions, having won the 2018 race by a margin of three lengths, and leading overall with 83 victories to Oxford's 80 (excluding the 1877 race, officially a dead heat