National Hunt racing Grade 1-3 National Hunt races and the list of Group 1-3 Flat races The capital of National Hunt racing in the UK is Cheltenham Racecourse, in the Cotswolds, which hosts the Cheltenham Festival in the third week of March each year, as well as other important fixtures during the NH calendar. There are numerous well-known trainers operating in the Cotswolds including Jonjo O'Neill, Richard Phillips, Tom George, Nigel Twiston-Davies, and latterly Kim Bailey. The highlight of the Cheltenham Festival is the Gold Cup. All races run at Cheltenham finish with a long uphill run-in in front of the stands. The
Horse racing in Japan Japan. Japan's top stakes races are run in the spring, autumn, and winter; the top race is the Japan Cup. The history of equestrian sports and horse racing in Japan goes back many centuries, but it was not until the Spring of 1862 that the first horse race in a recognizably European format was organized by a group of British residents on an area of drained marshland just outside the recently opened treaty port of Yokohama. After a series of informal races were held on the location often referred to as the Swamp Ground, in 1866 the Negishi Racecourse was