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
Picnic horse racing largest picnic racing carnival during the Easter weekend. Picnic horse racing Picnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organised by amateur clubs, the jockeys are amateur riders, or sometimes former professional jockeys. The horses competing are generally of a standard insufficient to be competitive at professional meetings. They are often trained by hobby trainers. The meetings are more of a social occasion and are often held on Public Holidays, or on days when major metropolitan races such as the Melbourne Cup