steeplechase racing

The John Forbes Memorial, a two-mile flat race to be run Saturday at the Far Hills, New Jersey hunt meet isn't for every horse. The horse needs to be able to handle the grueling distance of two miles and carry as much as 148 pounds. But there are plenty of trainers who believe their horses can handle the test. A race that is getting better every year, the $150,000 race attracted 14 entries, including Thoroughbreds from the stables of Mike Maker, Christophe Clement, Graham Motion and Peter Eurton. The Forbes...

Jonathan Sheppard, an acclaimed Racing Hall of Fame trainer whose accomplishments extended from steeplechase race meets to the highest levels of Thoroughbred racing, died Sunday, Aug. 27, at his home in Hollywood, Fla. He was 82. The British-born horseman had retired from training early in 2021 with records that will, in several instances, stand forever. He was the National Steeplechase Association's all-time leading trainer by wins with 1,242 victories beginning in 1966, and his horses earned almost $25-million on the jumps circuit. Both are records. He was the steeplechase sport's...

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA) Board of Directors recently voted unanimously to begin an award program for Breeder, Owner and Stallion bonuses for registered Maryland-breds at sanctioned steeplechase race meets in Maryland. Beginning in 2022, registered Maryland-bred horses that run first, second or third will receive 30% on purses earned at National Steeplechase Association-sanctioned meets in Maryland. This program is modeled on the current bonuses paid to Maryland-breds that run at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and Timonium. The five meets that qualify for this program this year are:...

Jonathan Sheppard, a Hall of Fame trainer whose horses excelled on the dirt, on turf and over steeplechase fences, will retire from American horse racing, but will continue to train a small stable in Ireland, he announced Monday morning. Sheppard, who turned 80 last month, won every race and prize worth winning in American steeplechase racing over a 56-year career. He is the National Steeplechase Association's all-time leading trainer by wins (1,242) and purse earnings ($24,902,442). He has been the champion trainer by wins 26 times, and he has led...

The Steeplechase of Charleston, to be held Sunday, Nov. 15, at Stono Ferry Racetrack in Hollywood, S.C., will allow spectators and will also be streamed live via the National Steeplechase Association (NSA)'s website. Sunday's racecard will be just one of two sanctioned steeplechase events this year to admit fans due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike flat racing, steeplechase racing does not depend on pari-mutuel wagering for purses, but instead on admissions, parking, and tailgating income. Spectators at the Steeplechase of Charleston will be accommodated in single vehicle spots with...

The spring steeplechase season was compressed by the coronavirus pandemic into 21 races at two June race meets, but it had some sweet moments. Perhaps none was as satisfying as the GIII Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase H. victory by Bruton Street-US's Moscato (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), named after the sweet Italian wine. Moscato will have an opportunity to make his season even sweeter in Saratoga Race Course's GI A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase H. Thursday. Second in the weights to Rosbrian Farm's Optimus Prime (Fr) (Deportivo {Fr}), 9-year-old Moscato very likely will...

In any other year, the spring steeplechasing season would have concluded last week with the races at Fair Hill, Maryland, the latest hunt meet to draw a large and energetic crowd, there for the party as much as the races. Instead, the jump racing community is trying to figure out how it can salvage what has so far been a lost year. No slice of Thoroughbred racing has been hurt more by the coronavirus than steeplechase racing. With 14 of the 16 spring meets having been cancelled due to the...

Dr. Alfred C. Griffin Jr., the co-chair of the Virginia Gold Cup who played a key role in keeping pari-mutuel racing alive in his home state during Colonial Downs's closure, was elected president of the National Steeplechase Association at Friday's NSA Board of Directors meeting. The Warrenton, Va. orthodontist succeeds Guy J. Torsilieri, who was elected as the NSA's chairman. Torsilieri, who served as the NSA's president for 11 years before declining to seek another term, was elected as the NSA's chairman. He succeeds Beverly R. Steinman, who retired from...

Guy Torsilieri, the president of the National Steeplechase Association since 2009, will step down from that role at the next meeting of the Board of Directors on Jan. 17, according to a press release from the NSA. A business owner and chairman of the Far Hills Race Meeting, Torsilieri said he will continue as a member of the Board of Directors and will remain active in the affairs of the NSA. "I concluded that, as we embark on a new decade, it was a good point to turn over the...