Horse Racing Guide

Under normal circumstances, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup is one of three races run at the Cheltenham Festival – the others being the the National Hunt Chase and the St James’s Place Hunters’ Chase – that are restricted solely to amateur riders.Currently scheduled as the final race on the third day of the Festival, a.k.a. St. Patrick’s Thursday, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup was established in 1946 in memory of Ian Kay Muir, nickmamed ‘Kim’, a Royal Hussars officer who was killed in action during World War II. The name of legendary trainer Fulke Walwyn – who, at the time of writing, remains the joint-fourth most successful trainer at the Cheltenham Festival with 40 winners to his name – was added to the race title in 1991, following his death in February that year.

The Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup is a handicap steeplechase, nowadays run over three-and-a-quarter miles, and 21 fences, on the New Course at Cheltenham. The race is open to horses aged five yeats and upwards and is currently worth £75,000 in total prize money. Notable winners down the years include Nicolaus Silver (1961) and Ballabriggs (2010), both of whom subsequently won the Grand National at Aintree, and Cool Ground (1989) and Inothewayurthinkin (2024), both of whom subsequently won the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself.

Four decades after his death, in 1981, Fred Rimmell, remains the leading trainer in the history of the

Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup, having saddled Mighty Fine (1951), Gay Monarch II (1955) and Double Negative (1977) in addition to Nicolaus Silver. Jamie Codd, one of the finest amateur riders of his generation, is the leading jockey.also with four winners, namely Character Building (2009), Junior (2011), The Package (2015) and Cause Of Causes (2016).

Horse racing sportsbooks tend to be on the ball when setting out odds for big races that are months ahead in the calendar. For example, you can easily find odds for the Epsom Derby, Grand National, Kentucky Derby, and a myriad of other blue-chip events set to take place next year.

As you might imagine, placing a bet on a horse known for one of those races represents a step into the unknown. Between now and the Grand National in April, the horse could get injured, show terrible form, or not race for some other reason. And your stake, well, that’s most likely to be lost rather than refunded.

The concept that you don’t get your money back (with some exceptions) for long-term, i.e., ante-post or futures bets, is a staple part of horse racing betting. It might not seem fair on paper, but the argument is that you are playing a wider strategy game: You are, as such, betting on both the horse to participate in the race and for the horse to win. The ‘carrot’ is that you can get much bigger odds, whereas the ‘stick’ is that your horse might not run.

NRNB can appear on cards closer to race day

In saying the above, there are instances when you can get your money back on a non-runner, but with a caveat. If you see the term NRNB on the race card, that will mean all stakes will be returned should the horse not run in the race – if the horse is scratched, as they say in the US and Australia.

Now, NRNB is usually automatically offered on race day. Still, it is more often done as a promotional concession – a marketing exercise – in the weeks leading up to a big race. For instance, in late February or early March, you might see that bookies will promote that they are doing NRNB on championship races at the Cheltenham Festival (mid-March). The championship races, or feature races, are the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Ante-post betting is a difficult art to master

Thus, it is clear that NRNB is a positive thing on the bettors’ side, and it is certainly worth looking out for if you are approaching a race in the long term. However, if we can revisit the idea of its relationship, or lack thereof, with ante-post betting, you can appreciate its importance. It’s a get-out clause should things not go your way leading up to the race.

Long-term ante-post betting is an art form, and it requires insight on a level only possessed by experienced bettors. You are essentially looking for horses with potential that can step up another level for the season ahead, finally coming to the boil in your selected race.

The idea is that you are betting today, running the risk of losing your stake, hoping to have a much better price on race day. Numerous examples exist: For instance, Put the Kettle On was priced around 66/1 eight weeks before the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, where the mare duly won the Champion Chase. The SP for Put the Kettle On was 17/2, so there was a massive gain for those who punted on the horse a few months beforehand.

Of course, there are probably more disappointments than success stories – that’s racing. Yet, if you can find that little NRNB stamp on a race that tickles your fancy, it will give you extra insurance to get your money back should the horse not run. So, shop around different sportsbooks to see which, if any, offer it in the lead-up to your chosen race.

Flat horse racing whether on the turf or all-weather surface uses Steriline starting stalls. These are used to help position horses in a standardised, positioned in their allotted stall, and start on equal terms.

Horses have to be educated at home so they are confident about being stalled which can seem claustrophobic and noisy. Also, horses are in close proximity to each other and if becoming unsettled can set off horses in adjoining stalls. Horse handlers lead the horses to their stall, odds numbers first, while some trainers may ask for their horse to be entered last because they may be nervous or had problems in the past. If a horse fails to enter the stalls on three occasions it will need a stalls test which has to be passed to continue its racing career. Some horses are so nervous of the stalls, perhaps from a bad experience, they simply never feel confident entering the stalls. It may lead to some horses being banished from racing.

In general, starting stalls are used. However, on turf or if the stalls malfunction on the all-weather they may not be used especially if conditions are testing such as heavy going where it may be impossible to manoeuvre the starting stalls to different points on the racecourse with regard to the race distance. Also, there may be a fear the stalls get stuck in the mud or damage the course and bring about further concerns.

If the starting stalls cannot be used then a flag start is the only option. By all accounts it is a standing start. This is far from ideal especially over a short distance such as five furlongs and particularly with younger horses as they are difficult to control. In essence, the horses are positioned by their jockey with regard to their allotted draw, however, this seems less regimented simply because it is difficult if not an impossible task. The jockeys are called into position and the starter will lower the flag for the race to begin. If a horse or horses start too fast it my be deemed a false start and the horses are called back. This is unlikely to happen because there is no such thing as a perfect start when using the flag. However, false starts do happen on occasions.

If betting, it is imperative you know it will be a flag start rather than using conventional stalls. I have seen many flag starts and some jockeys position their horses a good few metres behind the others (there seems no logic to this but it happens) and it is a huge disadvantage. I have seen horses facing in the wrong direction and the flag is still lowered to start the race and it wasn’t deemed a false start. For this reason you may be wise not to bet if a flag start is taken as you are gambling on the fact of your horse starting on level terms.

I’ve had a few bad experiences of betting on horses when a flag start is used. Last season, I bet on a two-year-old horse over five furlongs at Windsor when using a flag start. The jockey positioned his horse some ten metres behind the others. Then after a false start he did exactly the same thing again. The horse ran an excellent race but had little chance of winning. The stewards didn’t enquire to the running and it was considered satisfactory. I thought it was scandalous.

It should be noted that national hunt horses, which take part in bumper races, hurdles or steeplechases do not use stalls. This is because the horses run over much further distances so the advantage or disadvantage is minimal. Also, the horses being older are more educated are more compliant. In addition, as horses are much bigger and stronger they would need specially made stalls. The main reason for a flag start on the national hunt is that the going is more likely to be testing over the winter period.

Traditionally, all horse races were flag start. In fact, starting stalls were first trialled at Newmarket on the 8^th July 1965. The race was won by a horse named Track Spare ridden by Lester Piggott. They were approved after first being successfully used at Chantilly, France.

The flag start for Flat racing can prove problematic but it is the lesser of two evils when you consider the other option is no racing.

In an effort to register, regulate and, above all, tax street bookmakers, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill, originally imposed betting tax in his Spring Budget in 1926. Beforehand, Churchill had, by his own admission, entertained the ‘gravest doubts’ about the proposal and those doubts proved to be well founded.

Betting tax proved difficult to implement, estimated revenue failed to materialise and the racing community reacted, almost unanimously, with disgruntlement. On-course bookmakers went on strike, Newmarket trainers collectively signed a petition objecting to the tax and its detrimental effect on racecourse attendances and, when two subsequent cuts to the tax rate failed to quell the outcry, Churchill was forced to scrap the scheme the scheme altogether in 1930.

Fast forward three decades and another Conservative government, under Harold Macmillan, enacted the Betting and Gaming Act, 1960, which, in turn, led to the legalisation of cash betting in licensed bettings shops on May 1, 1961. Five years later, the Labour Government, under Harold Wilson, reintroduced betting tax on horse racing, at a rate of 2%, on all bets placed with bookmakers.

Betting tax remained in place, in one form or another, until January 1, 2002. The previous March, Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown had announced a major overhaul of the betting duty system; out went the previous betting duty of 6.75%, based on turnover, and in came a new tax, of 15%, based on gross profits. Unlike the previous system, bookmakers could absorb the cost of the new tax, in its entirety, rather than passing it on to off-course punters as a 9% tax, payable on stake money or winnings. Notwithstanding a potential increase in general betting duty to bring it into line with remote gaming duty, set at 21%, on which the government is currently consulting, gambling winnings remain tax-free, even in eyes of HM Revenue & Customs. This of course extends to wins on best casino bonus in usa casinous and other casino and betting sites, which is good news if you find yourself experiencing a bit of good fortune!