The first recorded King George VI Chase was back in 1937, when only four runners lined up for the start, and the poor turnout was said to be down to quite poor Prize money on offer, which was less than a tenth of what was available for the Grand National Race.
The first winner of the King George the VI Chase was a 12 year old horse called, Old Southern Hero and he was a 5/4 joint favorite at the time. The Best horse of the era, was called Golden Miller, but he was never entered into this race as his targets were to win the Grand National and The Gold Cup, which meant the first King George the VI Chase was not recognized by the public as a Championship event, and yet again the following year 1938, only attracted four runners in the race.
There was no racing between the years of 1939 and 1946 due to the course being closed during the Second World War and the King George the VI Chase resumed in 1947 on Boxing Day. In 1948 the King George VI meeting was final recognized as a genuine Championship in its own right and in 1949 we saw the first ever televised running of this great Race and it also produced one of the best finishes of all time, who will win this year’s race, it’s yet to be decided, but there are some great runners taking part!
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