Hunter Chase Statistics
For the season just ended 330 horses ran in the 44 Hunter Chases' and 2 P-P Bumpers that were able to be staged, producing an average field size of 7.2 runners.
Last season 414 horses ran in 55 races producing an average field size of 7.5 runners.
On the face of it a decline in interest in these races.
However, a case can be made that the seasons are less comparable than in previous years, with the transfer of the high turn out Cheltenham fixture to Warwick* and the final 10 hunter chases being cancelled due to EI.
If I remove Warwick from this season and take Cheltenham and the final 9 races (Kelso was not run last year) out of 2025 then 39 races were run in both seasons. They attracted 298 runners this year against 290 last season.
So it is possible to make the case that had we had Cheltenham and the final 10 races and they had been no more than 8 runners down on last season, then there would have been parity between the two seasons.
*With 32 runners Warwick drew exactly half the 64 that went last year at Cheltenham.
Does feel that on the whole it has been a fairly good season. Kempton's 2 runner affair obviously not great. Fakenham's two also struggled for runners, but then Fakenham struggles for runners in any race now. I think the average is about as high as we can expect now.
I know the Warwick 0-110 final only had 4 runners, but I just wonder if we might see more target the final next year because the prize money was very good and it was a very winnable race.