There’s Plenty of Horse Racing to Look Forward to in 2024 Despite Loss of Queen’s Cup

By
Steve
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32

There’s Plenty of Horse Racing to Look Forward to in 2024 Despite Loss of Queen’s Cup

It was with great sadness that the Queen’s Cup, the annual steeplechasing event held at Mineral Springs, will not be run in 2024. Issues over operating the race, and disputes between the two management groups, mean that Charlotte’s premier horse racing event won’t make it out of the stable this year. However, the good news is that there’s plenty of equine action to look forward to on U.S. soil in 2024 – not to mention the possibility of an American dominating the Cheltenham Festival.

Rich By Name & Nature

Although notoriously tight-lipped about his past and private life, it’s thought that Rich Ricci enjoyed an upbringing out on the East Coast. He’s since traveled across the pond and, as well as becoming a successful entrepreneur, he’s also enjoyed plenty of wins as a horse racing trainer.

Now he has the Cheltenham Festival in his crosshairs, with one of his horses – Lossiemouth – the odds-on favorite (-300) in the Cheltenham betting to win the Mares’ Hurdle.

The Cheltenham tips columns are also talking up the chances of some of Ricci’s other entries, too. Gaelic Warrior is a live contender in the Arkle Chase or the Turners Novices’ Chase, depending on which race Ricci declares him for, while Bialystok appears to be ‘well in’ with the handicapper for the County Hurdle.


The enigmatic Ricci has enjoyed numerous winners at the Cheltenham Festival in the past, landing some of the meeting’s most prestigious prizes – including the Champion Hurdle in 2015 and ’16 with Faugheen and Annie Power respectively.

With Royal Ascot winners to his name too, Ricci has scaled the heights of horse racing in the UK and Ireland – leaving behind his past as an investment banker with Barclays to rack up an estimated $8.8 million in prize money since April 2019 alone.

That has to be the smartest investment of Ricci’s career so far!

Flying the Flag

Back on American soil, there are plenty of well-heeled racehorse owners looking to match Ricci in the prize money stakes. And they’ll have ample opportunity to do exactly that, with a rigorous schedule of races in 2024 that provides plenty of opportunities for riches.

The early summer months are perhaps the peak time for horse racing in the United States, with the Kentucky Derby – one of the most famous races on the planet – taking place on May 4, and the Grade I Preakness Stakes following a fortnight later at the Pimlico track in Baltimore.

And on June 8, there’s the third of the Triple Crown events, the Belmont Stakes, in New York – one of the best-supported and attended races on American soil.

Seeing out the year will be the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which routinely attracts the best horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners from around the globe in a bid to win some eye-catching prize money and, most importantly, some of the most illustrious races that the sport has to offer.

It’s such a shame that the Queen’s Cup will cease to exist in 2024, what with it being the most attractive race in North Carolina, let alone Charlotte. But the hope is that it will return next year and, besides, it’s not as if American horse racing fans haven’t got plenty to look forward to on home soil in 2024 anyway!