Hexham Jump Festival: Your Complete Guide

The Hexham Calendar

Hexham's season follows an unusual arc for a National Hunt track. The course hosts autumn and spring meetings as standard, but its most prestigious fixture — the Gold Cup — comes in late spring rather than midwinter, giving it a genuinely distinctive place in the jump calendar. The season typically runs from October through June, with a series of Sunday and midweek meetings filling the programme.

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Border Reiver Chase Day (Autumn, October–November)

The autumn opener for the Hexham season is one of the most anticipated jump days in the north east. The Border Reiver Chase is a competitive handicap chase that gives the meeting its identity and draws horses from Northumberland, County Durham and across the Scottish border. The name reflects the course's roots in the border country, and the race's field regularly includes horses from Scottish yards at Kelso and Carlisle who are comfortable with the trip north.

The autumn crowd at Hexham is enthusiastic and committed. This is not a casual raceday audience — the people here follow northern jump racing seriously and have opinions about form, trainers and jockeys. The betting ring is lively and competitive on Border Reiver day in a way that weekday winter meetings cannot match.

The support card on Border Reiver day typically includes a novice hurdle, a maiden hurdle and a staying handicap chase that give the full afternoon card a satisfying structure. It is a complete raceday rather than just a single headline race.

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Autumn and Winter Programme (November–February)

Hexham's winter fixtures are the most weather-dependent of any course in England. At 850 feet on an exposed hilltop, the racecourse faces conditions that lower-lying tracks never encounter — sustained frost, heavy snow and waterlogged ground are recurring challenges. Meetings are abandoned more frequently at Hexham than almost anywhere else in England, and planning a winter visit requires flexibility.

When the meetings do run, the fields draw on a pool of horses trained in Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire and the Scottish borders. These are horses accustomed to exposed, demanding conditions, and races at Hexham in winter are genuine examinations of stamina and jumping ability. The form from winter Hexham meetings has a specific regional character — it translates well to similar northern tracks but is not always reflected accurately in national form ratings.

The crowds at midwinter Hexham are small but the atmosphere is disproportionately warm. The course's facilities include a well-heated grandstand and a bar that offers genuine shelter, and the Northumberland racegoing community treats even a modest midweek meeting as a social occasion.

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Spring Meetings (April–May)

As the main jump season elsewhere begins winding down, Hexham's spring programme gathers momentum. April and May meetings draw horses that have been running all winter and are now well-travelled and fit. The ground in spring at Hexham can still be testing after a wet northern winter, but it is generally more reliable than the December and January fixtures.

Spring meetings at Hexham attract an unusual profile of horse — animals that were competitive in better company through the winter but are now looking for a winnable race at a smaller venue. These horses tend to be generously handicapped relative to the modest opposition they face at Hexham, and they win more often than the market's implied prices suggest.

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Hexham Gold Cup Day (May–June)

The season's centrepiece. The Hexham Gold Cup falls when most National Hunt venues have already shut for the summer, making it one of a handful of significant jump race occasions in late spring. The course draws its biggest attendance of the year for Gold Cup day — around four to five thousand racegoers make the trip to the hilltop — and the atmosphere captures something of both the jump season and the beginning of summer.

Gold Cup day has a festive quality that the midwinter meetings cannot replicate. The days are long, the light is different, and the combination of competitive jump racing and an almost summery outdoor setting is unique in the racing calendar. The support card is the strongest of the Hexham year, with decent prize money across all races and fields that justify the status of the meeting.

Hexham Gold Cup (Grade Three or Listed Chase, 3m, May–June)

The Gold Cup is the jewel of the Hexham season and one of the most distinctive chase races in British jumping — not because of its Grade level, but because of when it runs and where. A Graded or Listed chase in late May on Britain's highest racecourse is an unusual proposition, and the horses that make the journey to Hexham for this race have been specifically targeted at it.

The race is run at approximately three miles on the left-handed hilltop circuit. At altitude, in late spring conditions that can range from glorious sunshine to cold wind and rain, the stamina demands are significant. Horses that have been running all winter and are now fully race-fit have a significant advantage over those that have been freshened up too early. The form guide for late-season northern chasers is more important for the Gold Cup than any assessment based on autumn form.

Key trainer angle: Local Northumberland and border country trainers have a strong record in the Gold Cup because their horses are accustomed to the altitude, the weather and the left-handed circuit. Sue Smith, Sandy Thomson and Harriet Graham have excellent records at Hexham generally. When these trainers enter horses for the Gold Cup, the course-familiarity advantage is real and significant.

Watch for: Horses that have won at Hexham before, particularly those that have won over the Gold Cup trip or longer. The hilltop conditions and demanding circuit mean previous course experience translates more reliably here than at almost any other track.

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Border Reiver Chase (Autumn, Handicap Chase, 2m4f–3m)

The season's autumn flagship and the race that launches the Hexham year. A competitive handicap chase drawn from the northern and border country horse pool, it rewards horses that handle the exposed conditions and the left-handed undulating circuit. The race is well-handicapped and regularly produces tight finishes.

Previous Hexham winners running in the Border Reiver Chase are the primary betting focus. The trainer statistics of the border country specialists are the secondary filter.

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Novice Hurdle Programme

Hexham's novice hurdles through the season are a production line for northern jumpers. Horses educated over hurdles on the demanding Hexham circuit are often better prepared for the physical and mental demands of jump racing than animals whose novice education has been on easier tracks. When a Hexham novice hurdle winner subsequently moves to Carlisle or Kelso, upgrade their chances accordingly.

Altitude and Stamina — the Core Betting Principle

Britain's highest racecourse imposes a specific physiological demand that no other track replicates. At approximately 850 feet above sea level, with an exposed hilltop circuit that offers no shelter from wind, the stamina requirements at Hexham are genuinely greater than they appear on paper. Horses that have run at Hexham before and won carry a meaningful edge — they have already demonstrated they handle the conditions. Horses coming from lower-lying, sheltered tracks for the first time deserve a measure of scepticism even if their form looks strong.

The simplest Hexham betting rule: horses that have previously won at Hexham should always be your starting point, regardless of what other form they have accumulated elsewhere.

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Northern and Border Country Trainers

The pattern of trainer dominance at Hexham is as pronounced as at Fontwell. Sue Smith in Bingley, Sandy Thomson in Greenlaw and Harriet Graham — all based within an hour of the course — have exceptional records that national form databases undervalue. When these trainers enter a horse for the Gold Cup or the Border Reiver Chase, assume they have targeted the race and know the conditions suit their horse.

Conversely, big-name southern trainers sending raiders to Hexham for one-off appearances face a significant acclimatisation challenge. Their horses' form is genuinely meaningful but the unfamiliar conditions deserve a discount of perhaps 5-10% in your assessment.

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Spring Form as Gold Cup Currency

The Hexham Gold Cup falls in late spring when horses have had a full winter's racing. A horse with eight or nine runs behind it, consistently competitive at northern tracks, is in fundamentally better shape for a late-season gold cup than a horse freshened since March. Weight form carefully by recency and race fitness rather than the quality of the best run in the season.

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Practical Notes

Hexham's betting ring is modest in scale. For Gold Cup day and Border Reiver day the ring is competitive and worth using, but for midwinter weekday meetings the online bookmakers will give you better prices and more liquid markets. The Tote is well-represented at Hexham and the place pools are worth considering in races with eight or more runners.

Getting There

By train: Hexham station is on the Newcastle–Carlisle line (Northern Rail), approximately 30 minutes from Newcastle Central and 40 minutes from Carlisle. Services are regular throughout the day. From Hexham station, the racecourse is approximately a 10–15 minute walk through the town — the walk is uphill to the hilltop but well-signposted and manageable. This makes Hexham one of the more easily walkable racecourses from its nearest station in the north of England.

By car: The A69 is the main east-west route between Newcastle and Carlisle, passing directly through Hexham. From Newcastle, the journey is approximately 20 miles and takes around 25 minutes in normal traffic. From the A69, the racecourse is signposted through the town. On-site parking is available and generally free; on Gold Cup day arrive early as the course fills more quickly than its modest size might suggest.

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Enclosures and Facilities

Hexham is a friendly, unpretentious racecourse that has invested carefully in its facilities since a period of development in recent years.

The Grandstand covers the finishing straight with covered seating and a heated interior — essential in autumn and winter when the hilltop conditions demand refuge. The ground-level viewing areas are accessible from the grandstand enclosure and offer close-up views of horses jumping the fences on the run past the stands.

The Course Enclosure runs along the outer rail and is popular with racegoers who want a wide view of the whole left-handed circuit from the hilltop vantage point. On a clear spring day for the Gold Cup, the views from the course enclosure are among the most dramatic of any British racecourse.

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Essential Tips

• Dress for the hilltop at all times of year. Even in May and June, the exposed hilltop at Hexham can be cold and windy. A layer and waterproof are sensible whatever the forecast. In autumn and winter, proper winter clothing is non-negotiable.
• The walk from the station is worth it. The uphill approach through Hexham town gives you time to absorb the character of this old market town before the racing. It is a pleasant 15-minute warm-up.
• Check the going carefully before winter visits. Hexham is the most weather-affected course in England. Always check the going report on race morning and be prepared for last-minute changes.
• Book Gold Cup day in advance. Despite its remote-feeling location, the Gold Cup attracts a strong crowd and popular enclosures sell ahead. Check the racecourse website for tickets as the date approaches.
• Newcastle is the ideal base. With its excellent rail link, Newcastle is the most practical overnight base for visiting Hexham. Thirty minutes on the train with no need for a car makes it a straightforward and enjoyable trip.