William Hill Towton Raceday | Wetherby Racecourse

Featuring the Grade 2 William Hill Towton Novices' Chase

Join us as we visit 1461 Country!

The Grade 2 William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase was established in 1996 and the race was named in honour of the Battle of Towton, fought in 1461 just 10 miles from the Racecourse.

The raceday is historically themed as ‘Medieval Day’ to celebrate and remember 1461 and the Battle of Towton.

Find out more about the raceday and the Battle of Towton in the pages below:-

Download a PDF of the Order of Running

The William Hill Towton Novices' Chase

Facts & Stats...

The race is a Grade 2 contest for novice chasers and run over about 3 miles.
The race was established and first run as a Grade 2 contest in 1996.
The first winner of the race in 1996 was Mr Mulligan under Richard Johnson. Mr Mulligan went on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following season.
The trainer with the biggest strike rate for this race is Nigel Twiston-Davies, who has won the race three times, in 2005 with Ollie Magern, 2016 with Blaklion & 2018 with Ballyoptic.
The biggest priced winner was Baywing in 2017 at 33/1

2023 Entries:

Ballygrifincottage	8	145	Dan Skelton	Friends From Insurance
Bellatrixsa	6	128	Venetia Williams	Ms Sharon Kinsella
City Chief	6	135	Nicky Henderson	Mrs J Donnelly
Gold Cup Bailly	7	–	S.R.B. Crawford, N Ireland	Mr Simon Munir / Mr Isaac Souede
Mister Coffey	8	140	Nicky Henderson	Lady Bamford & Alice Bamford
O’Toole	7	–	S.R.B. Crawford, N Ireland	Mr Simon Munir / Mr Isaac Souede
Thunder Rock	7	150	Olly Murphy	McNeill Family & Mr Ian Dale

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey
2022	AHOY SENOR	Lucinda Russell	Derek Fox
2021	No Race*
2020	NEWTIDE	Kim Bailey	David Bass
2019	Meeting Abandoned
2018	BALLYOPTIC	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Tom Bellamy
2017	BAYWING	Nicky Richards	Ryan Day
2016	BLAKLION	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Ryan Hatch
2015	NED STARK	Alan King	Denis O’Regan
2014	ELY BROWN	Charlie Longsden	Noel Fehily
2013	GOULANES	David Pipe	Tom Scudamore
2012	Meeting Abandoned
2011	WAYWARD PRINCE	Ian Williams	Dougie Costello
2010	WEIRD AL	Ian Williams	Paddy Brennan
2009	KORNATI KID	Philip Hobbs	Tom O’Brien
2008	Meeting Abandoned
2007	HELTORNIC	Michael Scudamore	Graham Lee
2006	HALCON GENELARDAIS	Alan King	Wayne Hutchinson
2005	OLLIE MAGERN	Nigel Twiston-Davies	Carl Llewellyn
2004	ROYAL EMPORER	Sue Smith	Dominic Elsworth
2003	KEEN LEADER	Jonjo O’Neill	Liam Cooper
2002	Meeting Abandoned
2001	Meeting Abandoned
2000	ARTIC CAMPER	Venetia Williams	Adrian Maguire
1999	KADOU NONANTAIS	Oliver Sherwood	Jamie Osborne
1998	ESCARTIFIQUE	David Nicholson	Richard Johnson
1997	Meeting Abandoned
1996	MR MULLIGAN	Noel Chance	Richard Johnson

*2021 – Due to weather conditions the Steeplechase Course was not raceable , Wetherby instead ran an all Hurdle Card including the re-located William Hill Cleeve Hurdle, abandoned at Cheltenham the week prior.

The Battle of Towton

The bloodiest battle ever fought on English Soil..

When we established the Towton Novices’ Chase back in 1996, we selected a name that reflected local heritage and Yorkshire grit!

In the sixth year of the War of the Roses, on a bitterly cold Palm Sunday morning, a Battle was fought on the fields of Towton, just 10 miles from the Racecourse.

Amidst atrocious weather, howling winds, driving rain and snow, up to 75,000 soldiers from the Houses of York and Lancaster took part in what is acknowledged, as the bloodiest and most brutal battle ever to be fought on English soil.

The battle which was fuelled by regional hatreds and family vendettas ensured it was fought with such ferocity that together with the size of the armies involved and the atrocious conditions, culminated in the deaths of an estimated 28,000 men.

We are honoured to have been given permission to share with you a fantastic short video produced by the Towton Battlefield Society and narrated by the late Robert Hardy. Please follow this link to our Youtube channel to view

The Towton Battlefield Society comprises of an enthusiastic team of volunteers who work tirelessly to preserve the memory of Palm Sunday 1461 and the integrity of the battlefield. Find out more about them and the battle via this link.

Medieval Day

Join us in 1461 Country..

On this day we take you back to 1461 Country, and the smell of woodsmoke from the medieval encampment permeates the air. We do this with help from volunteers from the Towton Battlefield Society and Knights in Battle, a group who specialise in bringing medieval history to life! They erect a mini medieval military camp within our Paddock Enclosure, complete with camp kitchen. Re-enactors in authentic attire can show you the medieval skills they are keeping alive, basket-weaving, whittling, making cloth and clothing. They can show you how they cooked and ate, and how they readied for battle, how they fought and how they treated ailments and injury.

SMJ FAlconry will be here with some of their beautifulBirds of Prey on display, that you can handle should you wish. They were a very important part of Medieval life, an integral tool in providing food for the table, and used as sport by Kings and Nobles.

Covid stopped us having any form of engagement entertainment in 2021 and 2022, so we are delighted that we have Medieval Day back for 2023! Join us in 1461 Country…