The Grade One Tolworth Hurdle is to be switched from Sandown Park to become the centrepiece of Aintree’s new Boxing Day meeting in 2023 in the highest profile of a huge raft of changes to leading jump race programmes.
It’s also been confirmed that the International Hurdle, the flagship race of Cheltenham’s December meeting, is to be switched to Festival Trials Day some six weeks later.
In the biggest rewrite of the jumps pattern for many years, races well known to punters like the Kennel Gate Hurdle at Ascot, the Dipper Novices' Chase at Cheltenham on New Year's Day, the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, Haydock’s Champion Hurdle Trial, the John Francome Chase at Newbury’s November Carnival and the Future Stars Chase at Sandown, have all been run for the final time.
The Grade Two Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton becomes a Grade Two limited handicap.
The Leamington Hurdle, one of the Grade Two features on Warwick’s biggest day of the year in January, has also been scrapped.
Other races are to have new venues, with the Summit Hurdle moving to Aintree in early December and the Lightning Novices' Chase to Lingfield.
Meanwhile, Wetherby are to reduce the distance of their Towton Novices' Chase by half a mile and switch it to a mid-January date.
The BHA have stressed the aim is to “ensure a more suitable spread of opportunities and the first step towards bolstering British Jump Racing and ensure we remain competitive".
A number of new races are set to be added, including at the Tingle Creek meeting at Sandown and Cheltenham’s November meeting.
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