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260 UK Horse Racing Trivia Questions, Answers, and Fun Facts

How much do you know about UK Horse Racing? This category is for trivia questions and answers related to UK Horse Racing (Sports). Each one is filled with fun facts and interesting information.
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1 In 2000, a father and son respectively trained and rode the winning horse of the Grand National. What was the surname of this father and son combination?
Answer: Walsh

The 2000 winner was Papillon, trained by Ted Walsh and ridden by his son Ruby Walsh. The previous year, Bobbyjo won the race, trained by Tommy Carberry and ridden by his son Paul Carberry.
  From Quiz: Grand National
2 Which English racecourse hosts the yearly Grand National horse race?
Answer: Aintree

The Grand National horse race has been run since 1839 at Aintree, near Liverpool. It is a handicap steeplechase event which is run over 4 miles and 856 yards, consisting of 16 fences including Becher's Brook and The Chair.
    Your options: [ Epsom ] [ Kempton ] [ Sandown ] [ Aintree ]
  From Quiz: Grand National Steeplechase
3 When was the Grand National first broadcast on radio?
Answer: 1927

Sprig won the race that year after coming 4th in 1925 & 1926. He was bred in 1917 by Captain Richard Pennington who had hoped to ride him in the steeplechase. Unfortunately, Captain Pennington was killed towards the end of the WWI.
  From Quiz: Obscure Horse Racing
4 Who was the trainer of Shergar?
Answer: Michael Stoute

Shergar was the first Derby winner for Sir Michael Stoute - his subsequent winners include Shahrastani (1986), Kris Kin (2003), and North Light (2004).

Henry Cecil has trained the Derby winner four times, while Vincent O'Brien achieved the feat on six occasions. Jenny Pitman concentrated on National Hunt (jump) horses, rather than the flat, training the winner of the Grand National twice.
  From Quiz: 1981 Epsom Derby Winner: Shergar
5 In 1986, Richard Dunwoody won his first of two Grand Nationals. Which horse carried him to victory?
Answer: West Tip

Richard rode all four horses to victory in various races, but it was West Tip that he piloted to success in 1986. He had ridden West Tip in the previous year's race as well, but they parted company at Beecher's Brook on the second circuit. He rode Minnehoma to victory in the 1994 National, Charter Party was his mount when he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1988, and he rode the legendary Dessert Orchid to victory in the King George VI Chase in both 1989 and 1990.
    Your options: [ Charter Party ] [ Minnehoma ] [ West Tip ] [ Desert Orchid ]
  From Quiz: The Sport of Kings
6 What is the name of the road in Newmarket which houses the biggest number of training establishments?
Answer: Hamilton Road

Hamilton Road has been developed over the past 30 years and houses some of the most modern, purpose built yards in the town.
    Your options: [ Bury Road ] [ All Saints Road ] [ Cheveley Road ] [ Hamilton Road ]
  From Quiz: Newmarket Racehorse Trainers
7 The Queen has her own thoroughbred breeding stud: On which of the Royal Estates is this situated?
Answer: Sandringham

The Royal Studs are the oldest in the world. Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria) was responsible for the relocation of the stud from Windsor to its present home in Sandringham, Norfolk, in the early 20th century. The stud is run on a commercial basis and has stood several famous stallions in the past: Persimmon, Shirley Heights, Aureole, and top stallion as 2005 Derby winner, Motivator.
    Your options: [ Buckingham Palace ] [ Balmoral ] [ Sandringham ] [ Windsor ]
  From Quiz: All the Queen's Horses
8 Which ancient warrior queen used Newmarket heath to prepare her war chariots before her battles with the invading Romans?
Answer: Boadicea

Boadicea is well known for her ferocious leadership of the East England (Norfolk and Suffolk) Iceni tribe which she inherited upon the death of her husband Prasutagus. She fought the Romans at nearby Colchester, and then moved on to London (Londinium) where her army of 100,000 butchered 25,000 inhabitants who had not fled in her path. She then moved on to St Albans (Verulamium - Hertfordshire), which she took and destroyed. She was finally beaten by the Romans when her army became exhausted and on the point of starvation. It is thought she took poison in order to avoid capture by the Romans.
    Your options: [ Scathach ] [ Medb ] [ Boadicea ] [ Aoife ]
  From Quiz: Newmarket: British Horse Racing
9 When was Lester Piggott born?
Answer: November 5th 1935 ( Bonfire night)

Iris and Keith Piggott were both earning their living with horses. Iris (maiden name Rickaby) was from a long line stretching back into the mists of Turf history. Keith rode as a jump jockey between the World Wars with more than 500 winners.
  From Quiz: Lester Piggott: Jockey Supreme
10 Desert Orchid was foaled in 1979. Who was his sire?
Answer: Grey Mirage

Bred by James Burridge out of his mare Flower Child, Desert Orchid's breeding was not considered fashionable. Known as Fred until he was named with Weatherbys at three, he remained in the ownership of the Burridge family until he died.
  From Quiz: Desert Orchid: Racehorse Extraordinaire
11 When and where was Red Rum born?
Answer: May 3rd 1965 at Rossenarra Stud

Red Rum was born on May 3rd 1965 at Rossenara Stud, a stud farm in County Kilkenny, Ireland. He was bred to be a sprinter.
  From Quiz: Red Rum: Steeplechasing Legend
12 Frankie Dettori famously won 7 races out of 7 races at which race course in 1995?
Answer: Ascot

Frankie accumulated 7 wins at Ascot back in 1995. He rode 4 favourites and 3 outsiders and he beat odds of over 50,000-1.
    Your options: [ Ascot ] [ Lingfield ] [ Goodwood ] [ Newmarket ]
  From Quiz: General Horse Racing
13 The winner of the first Derby was which horse?
Answer: Diomed

The Derby was first run in 1780.
    Your options: [ Diomed ] [ Dukedom ] [ Daedelus ] [ Dante ]
  From Quiz: The Epsom Derby
14 At the end of Brigadier Gerard's two-year-old season, the Two-Year-old Free Handicap was published. What weight, in stones and pounds, was he given?
Answer: 9st 5lb

Brigadier Gerard was headed only by My Swallow, at 9st 7lb, and Mill Reef, at 9st 6lb.
  From Quiz: The Brigadier [2]
15 The trainer of the greatest champion of all time, Red Rum, also trained the 2004 winner, Amberleigh House. Who was that trainer?
Answer: Ginger McCain

Red Rum won in 1973, 1974, and 1977. Ginger was 73 when he had his fourth winner and had no plans to stop training.
  From Quiz: The Grand National
16 To which brilliant racemare foaled in 1901, does the maternal pedigree of Brigadier Gerard trace?
Answer: Pretty Polly

Pretty Polly was a chestnut mare by Gallinule out of Admiration. She was an excellent stayer but, like so many others, was only an average broodmare. However, it is as you come to her grand-daughters and great-grand-daughters that she shone through. The Brigadier was out of a great-great-grand-daughter of Pretty Polly. Maid of Mint was the dam of the 1906 Derby winner, Spearmint. Mumtaz Begum was the dam of the phenomenally successful sire, Nasrullah, among others. Selene was the dam of the champion racehorse and sire, Hyperion.
    Your options: [ Pretty Polly ] [ Mumtaz Begum ] [ Maid of Mint ] [ Selene ]
  From Quiz: The Brigadier [1]
17 Who was the sire of Arkle?
Answer: Archive

Archive was royally bred, being by Nearco out of Book Law, but proved a duffer on the racecourse.
  From Quiz: Arkle, King of the Jumpers
18 At which race course is the English Grand National held?
Answer: Aintree

This race event is the most famous steeplechase race in the world. Monty's Pass won this race in 2003.
    Your options: [ Epsom ] [ Cheltenham ] [ Aintree ] [ Newmarket ]
  From Quiz: Horse Racing - U.K and Ireland
19 Who won in 1985?
Answer: Slip Anchor

trained by H Cecil and Riddenby S. Cauthen.
  From Quiz: Epsom Derby Winners
20 How many horses finished the race in 2001?
Answer: 4

The 2001 race, won by Red Marauder, had only 4 finishers thanks largely to the extremely wet conditions at the time. It was the lowest number of finishers the race had seen in 21 years and the slowest winning time in over 100 years.
  From Quiz: Grand National
21 Which horse won the first Grand National in 1839?
Answer: Lottery

Lottery was ridden by well known jockey of the time, James "Jem" Mason. The horse started off as 5/1 favourite. The race was very basic in those days, being run over a ploughed field with a stone wall and two hurdles. Lottery failed to finish the race the following year when it refused to jump over the wall.
    Your options: [ Cardinal ] [ Empress ] [ Kings Speech ] [ Lottery ]
  From Quiz: Grand National Steeplechase
22 Newmarket in Suffolk has the July course which is used for summer racing, and the Rowley Mile for spring & autumn racing. Who or what is the spring/autumn course named after?
Answer: Old Rowley, a favourite horse of King Charles II

Old Rowley was also a nickname used for the King, probably referring to his interest in the ladies.
    Your options: [ Old Rowley, a favourite horse of King Charles II ] [ Roly Poly, a favourite dog of King Charles I ] [ Old Rowley, a favourite horse of King James I ] [ Roly Poly, a favourite dog of Queen Victoria ]
  From Quiz: Obscure Horse Racing
23 Which jockey was Shergar's regular rider, and was just 19 when riding him to victory at Epsom?
Answer: Walter Swinburn

Swinburn was having his first ride in the race when cruising to victory on the first of his three Derby winners. He also rode Shahrastani (1986) and Lammtarra (1995).

Steve Cauthen was only 18 when winning the US Triple Crown aboard Affirmed, in 1978. He later won two Epsom Derbies. Fallon has three victories to his name, while Dettori landed his first, at the 15th attempt, when winning on Authorized in 2007.
    Your options: [ Steve Cauthen ] [ Frankie Dettori ] [ Walter Swinburn ] [ Kieren Fallon ]
  From Quiz: 1981 Epsom Derby Winner: Shergar
24 Lester Piggott is regarded as one of Britain's best jockeys of the 20th century. How many times did he ride over 200 winners in a single season?
Answer: 0

Despite having a phenomenal record over his 40+ year career, Piggott never passed the 200 winners target. His achievements include riding over 5000 winners in total, nine Derby wins and 11 times Champion Jockey. He finally retired, for the second time, in 1995 in his 60th year. His career was marred by a short spell in prison in 1987-88 for tax evasion, and he was stripped of his O.B.E. in 1988 following his release from jail.
  From Quiz: The Sport of Kings
25 What was the name of Lester Piggott's yard when he took up training upon his retirement from race riding?
Answer: Eve Lodge Stables

When Lester retired from race riding in 1985, he started training at Eve Lodge Stables, a new purpose built yard in Hamilton Road. At his peak, the stables housed 97 residents and sent out 34 winners.
  From Quiz: Newmarket Racehorse Trainers
26 Which 1987 Derby and St. Leger winning stallion broke his leg in a paddock accident at Dalham Hall Stud in 1991?
Answer: Reference Point

This successful Mill Reef stallion was found in his stud exercise paddock with a broken leg in 1991. He sadly had to be put down and is now in the stallion burial area at Dalham Hall Stud.
    Your options: [ Lamtarra ] [ Halling ] [ Reference Point ] [ Doyen ]
  From Quiz: Newmarket Studs and Stallions
27 Which notable Royal trainer carried on training after being confined to a wheelchair after a hunting accident?
Answer: Major Dick Hern

After being sole trainer for her Majesty at the Royal racing stables in Berkshire, Major Hern was sacked when he became too ill to carry on in 1988.
    Your options: [ Neil Graham ] [ Ian Balding ] [ Major Dick Hern ] [ Lord Huntingdon ]
  From Quiz: All the Queen's Horses
28 Which English Monarch was the first to discover that the flat lands in the Newmarket area were ideal for galloping horses?
Answer: James I

James I came across the vast flatlands of Newmarket on the edge of the fens, when he was hunting hare in the area in February 1605. Both his son, Charles I and ultimately his grandson Charles II, shared his passion for equestrian pursuits and by 1622 the first recorded horse race took place.
    Your options: [ Henry VIII ] [ Charles II ] [ James I ] [ Queen Anne ]
  From Quiz: Newmarket: British Horse Racing
29 How old was Lester when he first rode in a horse race?
Answer: 12

His first professional ride at the age of 12 was on a horse called The Chase on 7th April 1948 at Salisbury. The horse was trained by his father.
  From Quiz: Lester Piggott: Jockey Supreme
30 Desert Orchid had one trainer throughout his career. He had his yard at Whitsbury on the Hampshire/Wiltshire border. Who was he?
Answer: David Elsworth

David Elsworth has had many top class performers through his hands but will always be remembered for his exquisite handling of Dessie's career. His lass, Janice Coyle and his work rider, Rodney Boult, played no small part in keeping Dessie fit and well throughout his eight year career.
  From Quiz: Desert Orchid: Racehorse Extraordinaire
31 What colour was Red Rum?
Answer: Bay

Bay is brown with a black mane and tail.
  From Quiz: Red Rum: Steeplechasing Legend
32 Name the odd one out?
Answer: Best Mate

Best Mate failed to win a Grand National. Red Rum won 3 in the 1970s, L'escargot won for Tommy Carberry in the 1970s, and Bobbyjo who was trained by Tommy was rode to victory by his son Paul in 1999.
  From Quiz: General Horse Racing
33 How old does a horse have to be to run in the Derby?
Answer: 3

Runners in the Derby are restricted to 3-year olds, so no horse can win it more than once.
  From Quiz: The Epsom Derby
34 How many horses took part in the 1971 Goodwood Mile, which Brigadier Gerard won by a staggering 10 lengths?
Answer: Three

The Brigadier ran his small opposition ragged and came in ahead of Gold Rod with Ashleigh a further four lengths back.
    Your options: [ Three ] [ Seven ] [ Five ] [ Two ]
  From Quiz: The Brigadier [2]
35 The National had its first woman jockey, Charlotte Brew, in which year?
Answer: 1977

Charlotte's mount, Barony Fort, refused at fence 27. In 1982, Geraldine Rees on Cheers became the first female jockey to complete the course.
    Your options: [ 1982 ] [ 1957 ] [ 1997 ] [ 1977 ]
  From Quiz: The Grand National
36 Who owned Brigadier Gerard?
Answer: John & Jean Hislop

John Hislop was born in December 1911 at Quetta, at that time a part of the Indian Empire. He was educated in Britain, served in WWII and has had a lifelong love of horse racing. His dream was to breed a champion from the line of Pretty Polly which he accomplished, and then some, with The Brigadier. Sir Alex Ferguson was the part owner of Rock of Gibraltar. Major Loder owned Pretty Polly. Paul Mellon owned the champion, Mill Reef.
  From Quiz: The Brigadier [1]
37 Who was the dam of Arkle?
Answer: Bright Cherry

A winner of a hurdle race and six steeplechases and also placed eleven times. From a winning family, she was a far better performer than Archive.
  From Quiz: Arkle, King of the Jumpers
38 At which race course is the Scottish Grand National held?
Answer: Ayr

This race follows about 2 weeks after the English Grand National. The Bunny Boiler won this race in 2003.
  From Quiz: Horse Racing - U.K and Ireland
39 A Lady is the equivalent of what?
Answer: 5

Five Pounds or a fiver is called a Lady Godiva, so the number five is simply a lady. It is also sometimes called a ching, a hand or jacks.
  From Quiz: Race Course Slang
40 Who won in 1987?
Answer: Reference Point

Trained by H Cecil (again!) Ridden by S Cauthen. (again!)
  From Quiz: Epsom Derby Winners
The rest of the questions and answers can be found in our quizzes here:
UK Horse Racing Quizzes