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The Breeders’ Cup race is just the icing on top of the cake for steeplechasing, however. The sport has been growing significantly in the last three or four years, thanks in large part to the hunt meets.
Up until about 20 years ago the majority of steeplechase races took place in the infields of flat race courses, earning racing over fences the nickname of “the infield sport.”
Hunt meets, hosted at rural race courses by individual hunts and landowners, were generally small and somewhat exclusive, in some cases limited to members of the hunt and their friends. In time, however, the growing expense of hosting races forced hunt meet organizers to open their events to the public. Growth was slow at first. But, in recent.years, as word has spread, the rural meets have become more and more popular.
“Steeplechasing is a change in pace for a lot of spectators," explains Randolph A. Rouse, master of the Fairfax Hunt and chairman of that hunt’s annual steeplechase races. “People like doing things outdoors in the country nowadays. Maybe the country has become more precious as urbanization has grown.”
For many spectators going to a steeplechase meet to watch horses race over fences is of secondary importance. The sport’s big draw for
See Growth, Page 10
91.9%