Far Hills Races
Encyclopedia
The Far Hills Races is a steeplechase
horserace held annually in Far Hills
, New Jersey
, United States
. The October 2010 event was the 90th running, and race day purses can equal up to or more than $1,000,000, with six races offering the highest purses on the National Steeplechase Association circuit.
Considered one of the premier social events of the year in the tri-state area, it is attended by as many as 75,000 people annually. Family and friends create unique and often extravagant fall picnic areas, complete with beautiful floral center pieces, haybale seating, ice carvings and culinary feasts. For many visitors, the Race Meeting is a time-honored tradition and a joyous reunion of family and friends.
Starting in 2000 the Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase
returned to the Far Hills Races after a hiatus of six years. Known for the highest prize money of a steeplechase in America, USA Today
has described the race as "steeplechasing's richest race".
The Far Hills Race has a long history of raising money for charitable organizations. Since the 1950s, race proceeds of those attending the event and corporate sponsors have gone to fund the Steeplechase Cancer Center at Somerset Medical Center
, raising more than $17 million through 2009. The Race Meeting has profoundly impacted the medical center’s growth and ability to offer comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical services to New Jersey residents. Over 40 major corporations reserve entertainment tent spaces each year, with many more taking reserved parking tailgate spaces.
In 2007, The Far Hills Race Meeting Association committed a portion of the proceeds from its annual day of racing to the New York Heroes Fund, established to benefit emergency workers and victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks
at the World Trade Center
.
The 2004 running of the Grade 1 $175,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase saw McDynamo
, then a 7-year-old gelding coming back for his first race in 11 months after recovering from hock
surgery, win the race for a second consecutive year, defeating Hirapour by 1½ lengths in a finishing time of 5:06.8. The race covered a 2⅝-mile distance and jumps over 14 fences. The crowd was estimated at 45,000.
The 2007 running saw McDynamo running for a fifth consecutive title, one of nine horses running for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Grand National, with a purse of $300,000. At the age of 10, McDynamo was the oldest of 43 horses competing at Far Hills that day. All starters in the race carried 156 pounds.
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
horserace held annually in Far Hills
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 919.Far Hills was incorporated as a borough based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 7, 1921, from portions of Bernards Township, subject to the results...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The October 2010 event was the 90th running, and race day purses can equal up to or more than $1,000,000, with six races offering the highest purses on the National Steeplechase Association circuit.
Considered one of the premier social events of the year in the tri-state area, it is attended by as many as 75,000 people annually. Family and friends create unique and often extravagant fall picnic areas, complete with beautiful floral center pieces, haybale seating, ice carvings and culinary feasts. For many visitors, the Race Meeting is a time-honored tradition and a joyous reunion of family and friends.
History
The Far Hills Race Meeting traces its origins to the Essex Hunt, a fox hunting event founded in Montclair, NJ in 1870. In the tradition of these clubs, the Essex Fox Hounds established an event to thank the farmers and landowners who allowed them to hunt on their property. In 1916, the event moved from the original club site to the Grant B. Schley estate — today known as Moorland Farms. Eventually becoming the Far Hills Race Meeting, the races have been continually run—with the exception of a short hiatus during World War II—on the same site.Starting in 2000 the Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase
Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase
The Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase is an American Grade I NSA sanctioned steeplechase race run each fall over the rolling hills of Moorland Farms in Far Hills, New Jersey. Set over a 2⅝ mile course during the one day Far Hills Races, it has 14 national fences, and a purse of $300,000...
returned to the Far Hills Races after a hiatus of six years. Known for the highest prize money of a steeplechase in America, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
has described the race as "steeplechasing's richest race".
Charity
Somerset Medical Center
Somerset Medical Center, located in Somerville, New Jersey, is a nationally accredited, 355-bed regional medical center providing a variety of comprehensive emergency, medical/surgical and rehabilitative services to Central New Jersey residents....
, raising more than $17 million through 2009. The Race Meeting has profoundly impacted the medical center’s growth and ability to offer comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical services to New Jersey residents. Over 40 major corporations reserve entertainment tent spaces each year, with many more taking reserved parking tailgate spaces.
In 2007, The Far Hills Race Meeting Association committed a portion of the proceeds from its annual day of racing to the New York Heroes Fund, established to benefit emergency workers and victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
at the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
.
Results
All Gong set the course record of 4:53.80 in winning the 2000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase.The 2004 running of the Grade 1 $175,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase saw McDynamo
McDynamo
McDynamo is a thoroughbred gelding who is a five-time winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase at the Far Hills Races and a three-time honoree with the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Steeplechase horse...
, then a 7-year-old gelding coming back for his first race in 11 months after recovering from hock
Hock (zoology)
The hock, or gambrel, is the joint between the tarsal bones and tibia of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal, such as a horse, cat, or dog...
surgery, win the race for a second consecutive year, defeating Hirapour by 1½ lengths in a finishing time of 5:06.8. The race covered a 2⅝-mile distance and jumps over 14 fences. The crowd was estimated at 45,000.
The 2007 running saw McDynamo running for a fifth consecutive title, one of nine horses running for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Grand National, with a purse of $300,000. At the age of 10, McDynamo was the oldest of 43 horses competing at Far Hills that day. All starters in the race carried 156 pounds.