St. Leger family historical importance was Gen. Anthony St. Leger. He was born in 1731, probably in Kildare, Ireland. He was one of a group of noblemen and gentlemen who in 1778 gathered for a private dinner party in an upper room of the Red Lion Inn, which stands in the market square in Doncaster. A horse race, which was to set the pattern for classic racing throughout the world, had been christened the St. Leger at the suggestion of Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. The race, a sweepstake for three-year-olds, had been born two years earlier in 1776, at the suggestion
BetVictor Handicap Chase BetVictor Handicap Chase The BetVictor Handicap Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt race in Great Britain. It is a handicap steeplechase and is run at Cheltenham Racecourse in November, over a distance of about 3 miles and 3½ furlongs (3 miles 3 furlongs and 71 yards, or 5,496 metres). From 1987 to 1998 the race was known as the Flowers Original Handicap Chase. The 1999 running was known as the Hoegaarden Handicap Chase. From 2000 to 2002 it was sponsored by Intervet and known as the Intervet Trophy. The 2003 race was run under the name of the Open