Founder & Editor · Last reviewed 2026-03-02
Hexham's most historic race is the Heart of All England Maiden Hunters' Chase, first contested in 1907 and run every year since at the course's early-May meeting. It carries the Heart of all England Cup, a trophy presented by the Town and Trade of Hexham in the year the race began.
It is worth being precise about what the race is, because it is often described as something grander. It is a Class 4 maiden hunters' chase over 3m 41 yards, not a graded feature and not a handicap. Its standing at Hexham comes from its age and its trophy rather than its rating.
The 2026 running was on Saturday 9 May under its sponsored title, the Paxtons Heart Of All England Maiden Hunters' Chase.
Hexham is a jumps-only, left-handed course with pronounced undulations. The complete guide covers the track, the going and getting there.
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History of the race
The race dates from 1907. In that year the Town and Trade of Hexham presented the Heart of all England Cup for a steeplechase of the same name, and the racecourse's own history records that it has been competed for ever since at the early May meeting.
That unbroken run is the reason the race matters at Hexham. It is not the richest or the highest-rated contest the course stages, and it has never held a Pattern grade. It is simply the oldest, and it still carries the original trophy.
Wikipedia describes the race historically as a three mile one furlong contest. The 2026 renewal was run over 3m 41 yards.
Great Winners & Memorable Renewals
We do not publish a roll of honour for this race.
Our race-research store holds the race's origin, its trophy, its class, its distance and its month, all sourced from the racecourse's own history page and from dated race results. It does not hold a verified list of past winners, and we will not print one we cannot check.
If you are looking for the runners and riders for the next running, the Hexham racecards carry the declared field once it is published.
The Course & Conditions
The race is run over Hexham's chase course. The track is left-handed and jumps-only, with undulations that are the defining feature of racing here and a stiff finish.
The complete guide has the full course description. The betting guide covers going, draw and the angles that apply across the card.
Betting Angles & Trends
Two things about this race change how you read the market, and both follow from what it actually is.
It is a maiden hunters' chase, so the field is made up of horses that have not won a hunters' chase. Form lines are thinner than in a handicap and often come from point-to-points rather than track racing.
It is not a handicap, so the usual handicap angle of a well-treated horse off a workable mark does not apply. Weight is set by the conditions of the race, not by a handicapper trying to bring the field together.
Beyond that, the general Hexham angles hold: it is a stiff, undulating, left-handed track over three miles, and stamina and jumping matter. The betting guide has those in full.
Research, not tips.
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Read morePhotos on this page are used under Creative Commons licences. Titles, sources and licence links for each one are on our image credits page.
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