The Betfair Chase at Haydock Park is Britain’s first Grade One National Hunt steeplechase of the season and is the first real opportunity of the campaign for horses with the potential to join chasing’s elite to demonstrate their talent.
Two key horses to note ahead of this year’s contest are Grey Dawning – trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by Harry Skelton – and last year’s Venetia Williams-trained winner Royale Pagaille, who will once again be ridden by Charlie Deutsch.
“While Saturday is very important, we’re not going there apprehensive, we are excited, hopeful that he’s a really good horse and as good as a staying chaser that we’ve had,” Dan Skelton said to SportsBoom ahead of Grey Dawning’s tilt at the Betfair Chase.
The rain that is forecast for the area on Saturday – between 11mm and over 20mm – would really play to the strengths of Royale Pagaille, who revels in soft conditions and knows his way around this track very well.
If you’re looking forward to settling down to watch the race from home, then be sure to tune into ITV. Their coverage gets underway at 1pm on the main ITV channel.
Key race facts
The prestigious Betfair Chase is the first Grade One National Hunt steeplechase of the winter season, run over 3 miles 1.5 furlongs with 19 fences. It is held at Haydock Park in Lancashire in late November and is a highlight of the early National Hunt season.
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What is the prize money for winning?
The winner of the 2024 Betfair Chase will take home £116,029.
The all-time leading Betfair Chase trainer is Paul Nicholls, who has won it a total of six times to-date. Kauto Star is the most successful horse in the Betfair Chase. The gelding, who was trained by Paul Nicholls, won the race four times – 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The top all-time Betfair Chase jockey is Ruby Walsh, who won a total of four times – three times on Kauto Star (2006, 2009 and 2011) and once on Silvianaco Conti (2012).
The history of the Betfair Chase
The event was established in 2005, and it originally served as the first part of a bonus scheme called the Betfair Million. Its sponsor, Betfair, offered a sum of £1,000,000 to leading contenders for successful performances in two subsequent races.
The initial version of the Betfair Million was awarded if the winner of the Betfair Chase went on to win both the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Lexus Chase was included as an alternative second leg for the next two years, and Kauto Star won the prize by taking the original route in 2006–07. The format was changed in 2008–09, when the bonus became available to any first-three finisher achieving first or second at the Cheltenham Festival and then winning the Grand National. The Betfair Million was dropped the following year. The £1,000,000 bonus returned as the “Chase Triple Crown” in 2015 when Jockey Club Racecourses offered it to any horse winning the race, the King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup. Cue Card won the first two legs of the 2015–16 bonus but fell when in contention at Cheltenham. Since 2016 the Kauto Star Trophy has been awarded to the owner of a horse completing the Chase Triple Crown.
The Betfair Chase is familiarly known by its sponsored name, but its registered title is the Lancashire Chase. It is now the first Grade One event of the British National Hunt season. Prior to 2017 it was run over a distance of about three miles. The distance was increased to allow a longer run from the start to the first bend.
The original Lancashire Chase was first run at Manchester Racecourse in 1884.
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Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
