The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a United Kingdom National Hunt horse race for five-year-old and above horses run over a distance of 2 miles at Cheltenham Racecourse during the Cheltenham Festival in March. There are 12 fences to be jumped in the race. National Hunt racing (also known as as jump racing) is horse racing over obstacles called hurdles or fences . ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... A mile is the name of a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Cheltenham Racecourse is located in Cheltenham, England. ... The Cheltenham Festival is the most prestigious meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom. ...

Five-year-olds carry 11st 6 lb (72.5 kg), older horses 11st 10 lb (74.5 kg) and an allowance entitles mares to carry 7 lb (3 kg) less. In thoroughbred horse-racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a female horse more than three years old. ...

The race was first run in 1959 as the Champion Chase. The Queen Mother's name was added to the title in 1980, the year of her 80th birthday as a mark of appreciation to Her Majesty for her unwavering support for the annual festival . 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as Queen Elizabeth. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...