Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton was narrowly denied her first point-to-point victory this weekend (31 January) when she was beaten by a head.

Victoria finished second from 12 runners at Milborne St Andrew in Dorset.

She was riding nine-year-old gelding Pacha Du Polder, owned by the Stewart Family.

Victoria and Pacha Du Polder took up the running with a circuit to go, but was caught on the line by Queens Bay, ridden by Bryony Frost.

“It’s hard to put into words how exciting the race to the line was. I owe a great deal to Pacha Du Polder, he gave me a great ride today and it’s been a pleasure to get the chance to sit on a horse of his ability,” said Victoria.

It was her seventh ride, and her best result so far.

Pacha Du Polder was formerly trained by National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls. The horse is now in training with Chloe Roddick in Somerset, and is Victoria’s potential mount for her Cheltenham Foxhunter debut in March.

The run was part of her “Switching Saddles” challenge set by Betfair last year.

Victoria, who retired from competitive cycling after London 2012, was set the challenge by Betfair last year to start riding and secure an amateur jockeys licence.

The company also wanted to provide an “unexpected and entertaining perspective on horseracing, while also profiling the skills, athleticism and courage faced by jockeys every day”.

Having never sat on a horse before last year, the ultimate aim is for Victoria to take part in the Foxhunter at the Cheltenham.

“I would like to thank all involved with the support team Betfair have provided to help train me in this challenge, I now can’t wait for my next ride. It’s such a buzz,” said Victoria.

Barry Orr, of Betfair, added: “We are delighted for Victoria and today marks a significant step forward in her challenge. It was a competitive race to ride in, but she once again displayed a riding ability that belies her time in the saddle and highlights her dedication to the challenge.”

For full report don’t miss this week’s issue of H&H — out Thursday 4 February.

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Today (Saturday 22 November) is National Jockey Day — and to mark the occasion a campaign to raise money for the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) has been launched by Betfair.

For every tweet posted mentioning #NationalJockeyDay on 22 November, the online betting firm will donate £1 to the IJF. The company hopes to raise £10,000.

“When thinking of racing, our minds avert to the daring outfits, big hats, bright colours, and of course the beautiful horses,” said the company.

“But what’s often overlooked is that, each day, jockeys get up at the crack of dawn to train, drive hundreds of miles to their races and put themselves in constant danger of injury — all to ensure they are performing at the highest level and taking the sport we love to new heights.”

The campaign will launch at Haydock Park racecourse during the Betfair Chase Festival, and has the backing of champion trainer Paul Nicholls and ex-jump jockey turned TV presenter Mick Fitzgerald.

The average Flat jockey has 220 rides per year, travelling at speeds of up to 40mph. The average National Hunt jockey has 160 rides per year and tackles around 4,000 jumps.

“We feel jockeys are one of the hardest working athletes in sport and deserve a day where the nation supports their unwavering efforts,” added Betfair’s Naomi Totten.

“By partnering with the IJF, the hope is this year’s campaign can go some way to giving back to an integral industry charity. We urge people to support the campaign.”

Amateur jockey Hayley Moore got involved by making a “day in the life video” of her day at last week’s Open meeting at Cheltenham, where she rode Fruity O’Rooney in the opener.

“It was good fun and for a great cause,” said Hayley.

Support National Jockey Day by tweeting #NationalJockeyDay with £1 per tweet (up to £10,000) being donated to the Injured Jockeys Fund by Betfair themselves.

Fans can also personally donate £5 by texting IJF to 70800.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

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A surreal sight will greet Cheltenham Festival visitors this year with a set of limited edition boots being worn by models at the meeting.

The high heeled boots, priced at £1,300 a pair, are designed to look like a pair of horse’s hooves.

The imitation hoof itself is made out of carbon fibre and the legs use 5,000 individual horsehairs to complete the look.

The zip-up boots, commissioned by Betfair to celebrate Cheltenham’s centenary, come in either ankle or knee-length.

Dress code for the four-day festival tends to be country casual and organisers always advise to dress for the weather.

Model Louise Dainton, 25, from Essex, told the Mail Online: “They are really comfortable and almost make you feel like you want to get on the track and gallop down the final furlong.

“I’m not sure they are for everyone, but I definitely would like a pair of these hooves.”

Proceeds from the horse shoe will go to charity.

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BetfairClub ROA — a club for 18 to 32-year-olds who love horseracing — celebrated its first birthday on Friday, 15 August, at Newmarket Racecourse.

And top jockey Frankie Dettori joined the celebrations and cut the club’s birthday cake.

Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) president Paul Dixon said: “I am passionately keen about making horse racing more attractive to young people. BetfairClub ROA is designed to allow young people to find out how fantastically exciting horseracing and racehorse ownership can be.”

The club had two runners on the night — Cornus, ridden by Frankie in the 6pm and Support Fund ridden by Stephen Carson in the 7.05pm. Sadly there were no winners but a good time was had by all.

BetfairClub ROA also sponsored a race — the Happy First Birthday BetfairClub ROA EBF Maiden Stakes.

Mr Dixon added: “The club is already proving very popular; membership is increasing every week; and I’m delighted that it is in such a strong position on its first birthday. It is tremendous value for money.”

BetfairClub ROA is aimed at 18-32-year-olds looking to get an introduction into being an owner. Currently the club has four horses in training and benefits include owners badges, stable visits and social events.

Membership for the club is £199 a year, but as a special birthday initiative members can now join and pay monthly — which works out at less than £17 a month.

Visit www.racehorseowners.net

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Betfair is calling for harness racing to be staged on the four Sundays in 2009 with no televised racing fixtures following the success of the first harness race at Kempton on 16 July.

Punters placed more than £80,000 on the race with the online betting site.

Two thousand racegoers watched the race at Kempton Park and the race was aired live on Racing UK.

Tony Calvin from Betfair told H&H: “Our expectations were minimal — but as it turned out more than 1,000 people placed bets on the harness race.

“We were completely taken unawares. There is definitely potential if it is supported by one of the horseracing channels. It could provide a new interest for the racing fraternity and certainly gets our backing.”

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Former champion jockey Kieren Fallon has been cleared of race-fixing — alongside two fellow jockeys and three other people.

The trial over the conspiracy to defraud Betfair customers, which began on 8 October at the Old Bailey, has ended with Mr Justice Forbes directing the jury to find the six defendants not guilty.

The case against the accused was that they were infringing Jockey Club rule 157 by stopping horses racing on their merits in 27 races between December 2002 and August 2004.

The prosecution said that large sums of money had been laid on the horses after a series of texts and phone calls involving the jockeys Fallon, Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams.

But the flaw in the £10million case was that no one could prove that the jockeys had interfered with their horses’ running.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now