Cesarewitch Handicap

The Cesarewitch Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Newmarket over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres), and finishes on the Rowley Mile. It is scheduled to take place each year in October.

History

"Cesarewitch" is an anglicised version of Tsesarevich, the title of the heir to the throne in Imperial Russia. The race was named in honour of Tsesarevich Alexander (later Tsar Alexander II), after he donated £300 to the Jockey Club.

The event was established in 1839, and the inaugural running was won by Cruiskeen. It was founded in the same year as another major handicap at Newmarket, the Cambridgeshire. The two races came to be known as the Autumn Double.

The Cesarewitch initially took place before the Cambridgeshire, but the schedule was later reversed and it is now held two weeks after the other race. Three horses completed the double in the 19th century — Rosebery (1876), Foxhall (1881) and Plaisanterie (1885) — but the feat has been rarely attempted since then.

Cesarewitch (greyhounds)

The Cesarewitch was a greyhound competition held at Oxford Stadium. It was originally one of the classic races held in the British racing calendar and was inaugurated in 1928 and held at West Ham Stadium until its closure in 1972. The event switched to Belle Vue Stadium until 1995 when it was transferred to company sister track Catford Stadium. Catford's owners, the GRA, then closed Catford in 2000 and switched it to their newly acquired track Oxford Stadium.

Despite the event moving four times it remained a major competition until it's demise in 2012.

Past winners

dh = Dead Heat

References

External links