British Horseracing today welcomed the launch of a new institution, The QIPCO British Champions Series Hall Of Fame, which aims to celebrate the achievements of the greats of the Flat.
The Hall Of Fame will focus on the modern greats of the sport from 1970 onwards as well as honouring the horses, jockeys, trainers and contributors that have played a major role.
The First Hall Of Famers
The first Hall Of Famers to be announced are believed by many to be the greatest racehorse and jockey of all time, Frankel and Lester Piggott.
First up Frankel, the highest rated racehorse ever. The equine champion was unbeaten in his 14 race career; his complete dominance on the track was unlike anything racing fans have seen before or since.
Lester Piggott was quite simply a sporting titan. In a career that spanned an incredible six different decades he won over 4,400 races. The list of the man’s achievements is seismic. To name just a few; 11 times Champion Jockey, record nine Derby winners, 30 Classics, 116 Royal Ascot triumphs and the Triple Crown with Nijinsky.
When will Hall Of Famers be announced?
There will be two induction ceremonies each year taking place at the QIPCO Guineas Festival in early May and at QIPCO British Champions Day in mid-October. There’s no set number of inductees each year.
How will the Hall Of Famers be commemorated?
At the Guineas and Champions Day, the new Hall Of Famers will be presented with a bespoke medal as a permanent token of their induction.
What are the Hall Of Fame categories?
There are four categories; horses, jockeys, trainers and special contributors. Special contributors are people who fall outside the first three categories who have given and achieved a huge amount in the sport such as owners and breeders.
Who decides the Hall Of Famers?
A panel of experts consisting of horsemen and women, broadcasters, journalists and historians will decide a Hall Of Fame shortlist. The panel will meet twice a year to decide who the inductees should be and they will put together a shortlist for public vote.
Meet the full panel here.
How does the public vote work?
The vote allows racing fans and the general public who they think should be in the Hall Of Fame. The panel of experts mentioned above will shortlist a number of horses who will then be pitted against each other in a public vote.
To be notified where and when the votes start, head to the racing hall of fame voting here.
What about the horses and people pre-1970?
Champions Series will be honouring many human and equine heroes who contributed to the sport before 1970. Champions Series will be highlighting the magnificent achievements of key figures that gave so much to racing’s rich history.
Legends of the sport and historic moments will be commemorated from the start of the 17th century right through to the 1960s.
More from Great British Racing
Frankie Dettori’s Magnificent 7
In 1996 Frankie Dettori achieved a near-impossible feat when winning all seven races on the card at Ascot. The achievement was dubbed The Magnificent Seven...
QUIZ: Name 6 racecourses with all the letters ‘RACE’ and 4 racecourses without any of the letters ‘RACE’
With all the British racecourses in mind can you name six racecourses that contain all the letters ‘RACE’ and four racecourses that contain none of the letters ‘RACE’?...
QUIZ: Horse Racing Terms
The quiz includes 10 of the slightly less obvious terms to test your racing knowledge. You have four minutes, good luck!...
