Racecourse Guide

Huntingdon
National Hunt

Cambridgeshire · one of the few right-handed jumps tracks in Britain

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Right-Handed
Flat, Free-Draining

Shape

Right-Handed Oval ~1½ miles

Track Type

Flat, Minimal Undulation

Fences

9 per circuit

Hurdles

5 per circuit

Run-in

~200yd

Direction

Right-handed

Course Highlight

Peterborough Chase Grade 2

Ownership

Jockey Club Racecourses since 1992

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Huntingdon is right-handed — one of only a handful of British jumps courses that turns right rather than left. It’s a flat, minimally undulating oval of roughly 1½ miles with easy, sweeping bends, and a run-in of around 200 yards. The chase course carries 9 fences a circuit, including an open ditch directly in front of the grandstand — a genuine spectator feature. The hurdle course has 5 flights: two down the back straight, a cross-hurdle on the home turn, and two in the finishing straight. There’s no water jump any more — it was filled in and turfed over in the summer of 2008. Fences are rated tricky rather than easy: two plain fences in the home straight, plus an open ditch just after the winning post, regularly catch out less experienced horses. The surface itself is free-draining and tends to produce good ground, but the wider site sits on the Alconbury Brook floodplain and floods from that watercourse periodically — two different things that are both true at once. The course’s 21.1-hectare footprint is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest, home to the UK’s largest population of green-winged orchids.

Huntingdon’s first meeting ran on Easter Monday, 1886 — a three-mile steeplechase won by Catherine The Great — on land originally known as Brampton Racecourse (Huntingdon itself sits within Brampton, Cambridgeshire). Earlier, informal racing in the wider area dates back further still, to Sapley in 1602 and Port Holme flat racing in 1773. The grandstand still in use today was built in 1953. The course has been part of Jockey Club Racecourses since joining the Racecourse Holdings Trust in 1992 — confirmed, not Arena Racing Company. No major scandal marks its history; the main recurring disruption is flooding from the adjacent Alconbury Brook, which forced abandonments multiple times in 2021 and 2022, and on three separate occasions in 2024 alone.

You see a lot of good horses running at Huntingdon, especially classy types off the Flat, and that’s partly because it’s level, also because it’s close to Newmarket and not least because they put on some super races, from inviting novice hurdles through to the Peterborough Chase. It’s a very speedy track, but beautifully maintained with nice fences. Ideally, you want a horse that’s fast over the obstacles. You need to travel well to win there – and big, National Hunt types are definitely at a disadvantage.Mick Fitzgerald, former top jump jockey — At The Races

Course Facts

Founded Easter Monday, 1886 — first race won by Catherine The Great
Ownership Jockey Club Racecourses, since joining the Racecourse Holdings Trust in 1992
Distinctive A 21.1-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest, home to the UK’s largest population of green-winged orchids

The Circuit

Shape Right-handed — the minority configuration among British jumps courses — flat oval, ~1½ miles
Fences 9 per circuit, including an open ditch directly in front of the grandstand
Quirk The water jump was filled in and turfed over in 2008 — no longer a feature

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Grade 2

Peterborough Chase

Run over ~2m4½f, held in December. First run in 1969 as a handicap before becoming a conditions chase over 2½m in 1978. Edredon Bleu won four consecutive runnings between 1998 and 2001, and Desert Orchid finished third here in 1991, aged 12, in his penultimate race. Nicky Henderson and Henrietta Knight share the training record with 8 wins each.

Listed

Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle

Run over ~2m3½f, held in February. Huntingdon’s other black-type contest, run in the depths of winter and a recognised staging post for novice hurdlers.

Pace Bias

Running Style Bias

Huntingdon is named among a small group of courses — alongside Cartmel and Plumpton — where front-running bias remains genuinely significant, particularly at 2m1f and shorter, based on data spanning 2017 to 2024. The flat, free-draining surface tends to produce a true, consistently run pace that rewards horses ridden prominently. One widely repeated figure claims front-runners here are nearly 2.75 times more likely to win than held-up horses — treat that specific multiplier with some caution, as it could not be independently verified against a primary source, even though the underlying direction of the bias is well corroborated across multiple independent sources.

Run Style Bias — Qualitative, Multi-Source

▲ Front-runners

Named among Britain’s strongest at 2m1f and shorter

─ Prominent

Also favoured on the true, free-draining surface

▼ Held-up

A genuine disadvantage, especially at shorter trips

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Henderson, N J	327	89	27.22%	162	49.54%	0.90	-85.16
2 Skelton, Daniel	370	72	19.46%	143	38.65%	0.87	-121.74
3 O’Neill, Jonjo and AJ	369	67	18.16%	141	38.21%	1.06	-1.13
4 King, A	350	63	18.00%	157	44.86%	0.86	-40.57
5 O’Brien, Fergal	280	62	22.14%	123	43.93%	1.06	+31.62
6 Moore, Gary and Josh	369	51	13.82%	131	35.50%	0.84	-57.65
7 Bailey, K C	276	49	17.75%	97	35.14%	1.09	+3.12
8 Longsdon, C E	340	48	14.12%	116	34.12%	0.92	-88.84
9 Pauling, Ben	230	43	18.70%	81	35.22%	0.95	+15.20
10 Murphy, Olly	184	40	21.74%	76	41.30%	1.12	-26.28
11 King, N B	307	30	9.77%	87	28.34%	0.78	-50.62
12 Wadham, Mrs L	194	29	14.95%	75	38.66%	0.95	-8.62
13 Snowden, Jamie	154	29	18.83%	64	41.56%	1.01	-45.55
14 Twiston-Davies, N A	248	28	11.29%	94	37.90%	0.69	-101.04
15 Williams, Miss Venetia	172	25	14.53%	63	36.63%	0.88	+2.66
16 Owen, J P	90	23	25.56%	42	46.67%	1.08	-0.79
17 Nicholls, P F	70	23	32.86%	32	45.71%	1.21	+3.89
18 Ferguson, J P	64	23	35.94%	45	70.31%	1.12	+24.05
19 Mulholland, N P	169	22	13.02%	45	26.63%	0.82	-52.17
20 Edmunds, Stuart	149	22	14.77%	64	42.95%	0.86	-50.97

Huntingdon NH, since 2010. N J Henderson leads the page on volume (89 wins from 327, 27.2% SR, A/E 0.90), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are P F Nicholls (A/E 1.21, +£3.89). Oppose the over-bet N A Twiston-Davies (A/E 0.69) and N B King (A/E 0.78).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Skelton, Harry	305	62	20.33%	126	41.31%	0.87	-53.07
2 Sheehan, Gavin	227	49	21.59%	95	41.85%	1.21	+5.67
3 Johnson, Richard	222	47	21.17%	97	43.69%	0.93	+3.14
4 Twiston-Davies, Sam	306	43	14.05%	101	33.01%	0.82	-70.66
5 McCoy, A P	128	40	31.25%	60	46.88%	1.10	+10.41
6 Coleman, A	261	39	14.94%	106	40.61%	0.86	+55.90
7 Brennan, P J	219	38	17.35%	91	41.55%	0.89	-35.90
8 Boinville, Nico	163	37	22.70%	73	44.79%	0.86	-14.03
9 Bass, David	232	34	14.66%	69	29.74%	0.98	+25.12
10 Bowen, Sean P	167	34	20.36%	64	38.32%	1.13	+22.43
11 Fehily, Noel	135	34	25.19%	57	42.22%	1.14	+13.82
12 Cannon, Tom J	268	33	12.31%	89	33.21%	0.98	-65.61
13 Moore, Jamie	254	32	12.60%	74	29.13%	0.92	-18.51
14 Bellamy, Tom	203	32	15.76%	62	30.54%	1.03	-36.75
15 Quinlan, Jack	392	31	7.91%	97	24.74%	0.79	-169.47
16 Woods, K K	249	29	11.65%	80	32.13%	0.82	-60.62
17 Hutchinson, Wayne	156	29	18.59%	63	40.38%	0.92	-29.55
18 Gethings, Ciaran	203	27	13.30%	67	33.00%	0.97	-66.64
19 Aspell, Leighton	248	25	10.08%	85	34.27%	0.69	-115.07
20 Jacob, Daryl	182	25	13.74%	60	32.97%	0.80	+11.43

Huntingdon NH, since 2010. Harry Skelton leads the riders on volume (62 wins from 305, 20.3% SR, A/E 0.87), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Gavin Sheehan (A/E 1.21, +£5.67). Oppose the over-bet Leighton Aspell (A/E 0.69) and Jack Quinlan (A/E 0.79).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Kayf Tara	343	48	13.99%	117	34.11%	0.91	-65.49
2 Midnight Legend	291	44	15.12%	102	35.05%	1.04	-52.26
3 Presenting	267	41	15.36%	87	32.58%	1.04	-33.68
4 Flemensfirth (USA)	233	37	15.88%	78	33.48%	1.06	-20.90
5 Getaway (GER)	229	35	15.28%	80	34.93%	1.01	-21.55
6 Oscar (IRE)	214	35	16.36%	70	32.71%	1.16	+11.11
7 Milan	232	32	13.79%	76	32.76%	0.86	-62.81
8 Yeats (IRE)	179	28	15.64%	66	36.87%	0.92	-58.11
9 King’s Theatre (IRE)	157	25	15.92%	57	36.31%	0.89	-46.34
10 Beneficial	187	22	11.76%	52	27.81%	0.84	-33.26
11 Westerner	170	21	12.35%	60	35.29%	0.75	-65.65
12 Mahler	146	21	14.38%	39	26.71%	1.12	-18.00
13 Shantou (USA)	94	19	20.21%	40	42.55%	1.22	+13.95
14 Shirocco (GER)	144	18	12.50%	39	27.08%	0.92	-82.38
15 Court Cave (IRE)	99	18	18.18%	36	36.36%	1.14	-37.62
16 Kapgarde (FR)	97	17	17.53%	40	41.24%	0.93	-20.41
17 Alflora (IRE)	157	16	10.19%	46	29.30%	0.91	-3.60
18 Scorpion (IRE)	127	16	12.60%	32	25.20%	1.06	+4.01
19 Sulamani (IRE)	105	16	15.24%	36	34.29%	1.20	+108.66
20 Malinas (GER)	92	16	17.39%	37	40.22%	0.92	+23.99

Huntingdon NH, since 2010. Kayf Tara tops the sire list (48 wins from 343, 14.0% SR, A/E 0.91), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Sulamani (IRE) (A/E 1.20, +£108.66), Shantou (USA) (A/E 1.22, +£13.95) and Oscar (IRE) (A/E 1.16, +£11.11). Oppose the over-bet Westerner (A/E 0.75).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

📈

Snowden and Derham Are the Value Yards

Jamie Snowden (A/E 1.47, +12.26) and Harry Derham (A/E 1.55, +22.15) are genuinely profitable here; Daniel Skelton (A/E 0.77) and Nicky Henderson (A/E 0.61) are over-bet on volume.

🏆

Gavin Sheehan Is the Standout Rider

Sheehan returns A/E 1.47 and +46.15 from 112 rides — a sustainable angle; Harry Skelton (A/E 0.76) and Sam Twiston-Davies (A/E 0.66) are the fades.

🐎

Martaline Leads the Sire Angles

Martaline (A/E 1.28, +39.88) and Court Cave (IRE) stand out; Westerner (A/E 0.74), Blue Bresil (FR) (A/E 0.70) and Walk In The Park (IRE) (A/E 0.63) are the fades.

🔄

Weigh Right-Handed Form

Huntingdon is one of the few right-handed jumps tracks, so give extra credit to horses proven going this way and treat imported left-handed form with a little caution.

📈

Front-Runners Have a Real Edge

Named among Britain’s strongest front-running biases at shorter trips, though treat any single precise multiplier with some caution.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming a water jump still exists here — it was filled in and turfed over in 2008.
Treating Huntingdon as council- or ARC-owned — it’s been part of Jockey Club Racecourses since 1992.
Quoting an exact “2.75x more likely to win” front-runner statistic as settled fact — the direction is well-evidenced, but that specific figure couldn’t be independently verified.

Common Questions

Huntingdon Racecourse FAQs

Is Huntingdon left-handed or right-handed?

Right-handed — one of only a handful of National Hunt courses in Britain that turns right rather than left.

Does Huntingdon have any Graded or Listed races?

Yes. The Peterborough Chase (Grade 2, December) and the Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle (Listed, February) are both run here.

Who owns Huntingdon Racecourse?

Jockey Club Racecourses, since the course joined the Racecourse Holdings Trust in 1992.

Why does Huntingdon get abandoned so often?

The course sits on the Alconbury Brook floodplain and has suffered repeated flooding-related abandonments in recent years.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Newbury

Left-handed, home of the William Hill Hurdle and Coral Gold Cup.

Sandown Park

Right-handed, Jockey Club-owned, famous for the Railway Fences.

Kempton Park

Right-handed, flat and triangular, home of the King George VI Chase.

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HuntingdonNational Hunt