Which horse race is traditionally run on Boxing Day at Kempton Park?

The horse race traditionally run on Boxing Day at Kempton Park is the King George VI Chase.

It is a prestigious Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase held at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury, England. The race is scheduled for 26 December as the headline event of the course’s Christmas Festival, making it one of Britain’s best-known sporting traditions associated with Boxing Day.

The race was first run in 1937 and was named in honour of King George VI, who had recently become Britain’s monarch. Kempton Park closed during the Second World War, and the event returned in 1947 on its now-famous Boxing Day date. Although weather can occasionally force a cancellation, postponement, or transfer, its traditional home and date remain Kempton Park and 26 December.

The race is a test for experienced jump horses: competitors race over roughly three miles and must negotiate 18 fences. It is often compared with the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but the two races are separate events in different parts of the National Hunt season. Famous winners include Desert Orchid, who won four times, and Kauto Star, who won five.