As with the more prestigious and better known Cheltenham Festival, the November Meeting at the racecourse is built around a Gold Cup. This one is slightly different to the one that horses and jockeys compete over in March, though including the fact that it’s run on the middle day of the meeting rather than the final day. If you’re only interested in things that are gold and shiny then you can head straight to the information page for Day Two, though you’ll be missing out on some cracking races if you do.
The more that the November Meeting grows in popularity, the more prestigious races are added to the race cards of all three days. Day One is no exception, filled with interesting races to whet your whistle for the days ahead. This is the page you’ll need for all of that information, including rough timings (that are always subject to change) and details on things like dress codes. We’ll tell you everything we can, but it’s fair to say that information on most of the races isn’t as easy to come by as with the more prestigious Festival races.
2021 Countryside Day Race Card
As mentioned at the start, the schedule of a race day can always be moved around for any number of reasons. Here are the main details of the races though, including their normal start times.
Race 1 - November Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle - 13:15
- Grade: Class 3 Hurdle
- Distance: 2m 5f 26y (4248m)
- Fences: 10
- Course: Old Course
The November Meeting starts off with a middle-distance race open to a large field and is a conditional handicap hurdle that takes place over two miles, five furlongs and twenty-six yards (2m 5f 26y). It’s a Class 3 race that counts as a qualifier for the series final of the The Challenger Staying Hurdle later in the season.
The field for this one is normally quite big, with around twenty horses entering the race even if not all of them finish it.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Castle Robin
- Jockey - Paul O'Brien
- Trainer - Charlie Longsdon
- Overall Prize Money - £12,350
- For The Winner - £7,213
Race 2 - Handicap Chase - 13:50
- Grade: Class 2 Chase
- Distance: 1m 7f 199y (3200m)
- Fences: 13
- Course: Old Course
This Class 2 race takes place over one mile, seven furlongs and one hundred and ninety nine yards (1m 7f 199y). Open to four-year-olds and older, it’s the third handicap race of the day.
Typically speaking you can expect somewhere in the region of ten horses to compete in it. There are 13 fences to be jumped on the old course.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Magic Saint
- Jockey - Bryan Carver
- Trainer - Paul Nicholls
- Overall Prize Money - £22,522
- For The Winner - £35,400
Race 3 - Racing Welfare Novices' Chase - 14:25
- Grade: Class 2 Chase
- Distance: 2m 4f 44y (4064m)
- Fences: 16
- Course: Old Course
Another race that’s open to four-year-olds or older, the Racing Welfare Novices Chase runs over two miles, four furlongs and forty-four yards (2m 4f 44y).
It’s a Class 2 race that normally features quite a small field. In 2020 only four horses ran in it and one of them pulled up, so don’t be expecting particularly big odds from the bookies. It’s one of only two races that isn’t handicapped.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Protektorat
- Jockey - Harry Skelton
- Trainer - Dan Skelton
- Overall Prize Money - £18,980
- For The Winner - £12,820
Race 4 - Cross Country Handicap Chase - 15:00
- Grade: Class 2 Chase
- Distance: 3m 6f 37y (6069m)
- Fences: 32
- Course: Cross Country
The longest race of the day by some distance takes place on the Cross Country Course and lasts for about three miles, six furlongs and thirty-seven yards (3m 6f 37y).
It’s open to horses aged five and older and the field normally contains ten or more horses. It’s an exciting one to watch that will tell you plenty about the horses that have got some staying power for the coming season. The fourth handicap race of the day, it’s a Class 2.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Kingswell Theatre
- Jockey - Tom Scudamore
- Trainer - Michael Scudamore
- Overall Prize Money - £19,700
- For The Winner - £12,512
Race 5 - Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle - 15:35
- Grade: Grade 2
- Distance: 2m 5f 26y (4248m)
- Fences: 10
- Course: Old Course
The countryside day comes to a close with the biggest race of the day, the Novices’ Hurdle. Featuring ten hurdles and run over two miles, five furlongs and twenty-six yards (2m 5f 26y). It’s a Grade 2 race for novice horses aged four and up.
The field usually contains between five and ten horses and this is the one you’ll want to keep your eye on for clues about the best horse to bet on for the Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival later on in the jump racing season.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Does He Know
- Jockey - David Bass
- Trainer - Kim Bailey
- Overall Prize Money - £25,600
- For The Winner - £14,807
Race 6 - Novices' Handicap Hurdle - 16:05
- Grade: Class 3 Hurdle
- Distance: 2m 87y (3298m)
- Fences: 8
- Course: Old Course
The final race of day one is, as the name suggests, for novices. It’s another one that’s run on the Old Course and it’s open to novice horses aged three-year-olds and up.
The race lasts for two miles and eighty-seven yards (2m 87y). It’s a Class 3 handicap and normally has around fifteen to twenty horses running in it.
2020 Winner
- Horse - Lively Citizen
- Jockey - Charlie Deutsch
- Trainer - D J Jeffreys
- Overall Prize Money - £12,350
- For The Winner - £7,213
What To Expect On Countryside Day
Click If you would like to read a first hand account of a racegoers experience at Countryside Day 2018.
The day is named in honour of the Countryside Alliance, the organisation that looks out for the interests of folk based in the countryside. The Alliance is not just about their work on wildlife and management, also dealing with such diverse issues as farming problems and the struggles with getting a decent mobile phone signal as soon as you move away from the motorways and A-roads of the UK.
For that reason you can expect plenty of country folk turning up and contributing towards the country fair style atmosphere that has made the day such a hit. Day one of the Open also raises funds for World Horse Welfare, a charity that aims to improve the lives of horses throughout the UK thanks to campaigning, education and, of course, some hands-on care. As you’d expect, therefore, there are plenty of stalls with informational handouts that you can pick up to get yourself informed on what’s going on with the charity.
Unlike the Festival week, the Open doesn’t really tend to attract members of the Royal Family or celebrities in the same way that the Festival does. Instead Day One is filled with fun activities like duck racing, trail hounds and deerhounds being paraded around the ring before the action starts. When it comes to what to wear, there are no specific rules at Cheltenham Racecourse. Obviously the fact that it’s countryside day means that a general county sort of look would be more than acceptable.
Final Thoughts
If Champion Day at the Cheltenham Festival is a raucous, noisy affair then Countryside Day at the November Meeting is a decidedly more sedate introduction to the weekend. That’s not to suggest that it’s boring or that the racing itself isn’t worthy of your attention, just that you’re more likely to see folk dressed in tweet watching duck racing rather than downing pints of Guinness and getting hoarse from shouting.