Steeplechase 101

Steeplechase: A race for thoroughbred horses over jumps. Everyone knows flat racing, and the concept is the same here except the race includes fences to jump. There are 250 sanctioned steeplechase races in the U.S. - at one-day race meets throughout the East in spring and fall, and at summer stops at some of the country's finest racetracks. Races at the tracks are 2 to 2 1/2 miles long, on the turf, and include 11 to 12 jumps.

Steeplechase Horse: All steeplechasers are thoroughbreds and most raced on the flat before being converted to steeplechasing. The best steeplechasers combine speed and jumping ability.

Steeplechase Jockey: "Jump" jockeys are bigger (roughly 140 pounds compared to 110 pounds) than their flat counterparts, but do the same job. Two name flat jockeys, Jacinto Vasquez and Jean Cruguet, have tried steeplechasing with single rides at Saratoga.

Steeplechase Start: Steeplechase races don't start from a gate. Instead, horses are lined up in post position order and start from a standstill or a walk.

National Steeplechase Association: Governing body for steeplechasing in U.S. Based in Fair Hill, Md., sanctions, takes entries, approves officials, and inspects courses. Licenses all participants and keeps official statistics.

Maiden: A horse that has never won a race. In steeplechasing, a horse that has won on the flat is still a steeplechase maiden, meaning even a horse as talented as Cigar would "start over" as a maiden in steeplechasing.

National Fence: A man-made fence used at most stops in the U.S. and in all major track steeplechasing. Consists of a steel frame stuffed with plastic "brush" and standing 52 inches high. A foam-rubber roll, covered with green canvas, is placed on the takeoff side. Horses jump the fence in stride, much like human hurdlers in track and field events. The jumps are brought to racetracks by truck and set up a day in advance. They can be taken down quickly to allow for turf racing.

Novice: A horse in the early stages of its steeplechase career. Novice races, restricted by the date a horse breaks his maiden over jumps (usually Jan. 1), give horses experience over hurdles before competing with more-seasoned jumpers.

Timber fence: Natural, wooden fence constructed of boards, logs or posts and rails. Timber races are held as part of many race meets.

Wings: The panels on either side of a steeplechase fence which are designed to guide a horse to a fence.

Steeplechasing includes all the thrills and speed of horse racing at flat tracks. It mixes in the precision of jumping to create a hybrid not unlike hurdle events in track and field where the premium is on speed, but the concern is focused squarely on the jumps. The races are between two and four miles in length. The fences are man-made 52-inch hurdles called National Fences or timber jumps constructed of posts and rails at varying heights. Thoroughbred horses, almost all of them converted flat racers, compete in 12 states at 35 National Steeplechase Association stops and at some of the nation's finest racetracks.

Most steeplechase days include five to seven races. Attendance varies from tailgaters to horsemen, college students to senior citizens. Most spectators arrive a few hours before the first race (usually 1 p.m.) to start their outing with lunch or conversations with friends. The racing brings excitement, in approximately half-hour increments. As a whole, steeplechasing allows fans to get closer to the sport than flat racing. You can stand right next to a fence, or watch the start of a race, or catch the thrills at the finish line.

* The Washington Jockey Club hosted the first steeplechase race in the United States in Washington, D.C. in 1834.

* Hurdle races were held on the main dirt tracks of racetracks in New York, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio and Louisiana in the late 1800s.

* Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course hosted its first steeplechase race in 1873.

* The sport traces its roots to a two-horse "race" between Irish foxhunters Mr. Blake and Mr. O'Callaghan in 1752 from Buttevant Church to St. Mary's (hence the sportÕs name) in Doneraile, County Cork.

* The NSA headquarters is located in Fair Hill, Md., home to a world-class steeplechase course, a thoroughbred training center, an international three-day event course, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations and Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. Fair Hill, which also includes a 5,600-acre state-owned natural resources area, is about a one-hour drive from Baltimore in the Northeast corner of Maryland.

* NSA hurdle fences, completely portable, travel by truck from one race track or meet to the other. The fences, uniform and safe to jump, are made of steel, plastic and foam rubber covered in canvas. Each eight-foot section (there are four or five sections in a typical fence) weighs 400 pounds. Before 1974, when the National Fence was established, hurdle and brush races were conducted over natural hedges made of packed pine or cedar.

* Timber fences are made of wood, and are constructed of boards or posts and rails. The height and stiffness varies depending on the race course, with the famed Maryland Hunt Cup (which features some fences nearly five feet tall) heading the list.

* Jockeys always give horses a look at a fence before they race. In some European countries, a practice fence is provided.

* Steeplechase jockeys are relatively normal-sized people. The minimum weight in a steeplechase race is typically in the 140-pound range as compared to the rougly 110-pound level for flat jockeys.