A premier event in the world of live horse racing is fast approaching. The 2025 Far Hills Race Meeting is scheduled as a single-day event on Saturday, Oct. 18. The race day is a sanctioned segment of the annual New Jersey Thoroughbred racing schedule, with New Jersey racing specifically highlighting the steeplechase races at Far Hills that weekend.
Continue reading to discover key details about the Far Hills Race Meeting, a distinctive racing experience located within easy reach of the New York City metropolitan area. For over a century, racing enthusiasts, festival attendees, and society figures have regarded Far Hills as an essential October event.
1. The Far Hills Race Meeting will occur for the 104th instance in 2025. The Far Hills races have been continuously conducted at the same venue – presently known as Far Hills, or Moorland Farm – since 1916. The only times the race wasn’t held were during World War II and in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This storied tradition enjoyed increased prominence in 2021, when the Far Hills Races were broadcast nationally for the first time as part of the “America’s Day at the Races” coverage on FOX Sports’ FS2 channel. The 2025 races will again be presented on FS2 in a similar fashion.
2. The Far Hills meet’s main event is the $250,000 American Grand National steeplechase, covering 2 5/8 miles and featuring 14 fences. This year’s race attracted a field of eight, featuring last year’s victor Snap Decision. The Far Hills course record of 4:50 was achieved on Oct. 15, 2016, by Rawnaq. The Grand National stands as one of just seven Grade 1 races on the 2025 National Steeplechase Association calendar. This year’s race day will encompass six races – all stakes – with undercard purses ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per race. The race caller will be renowned track announcer Larry Collmus.
3. For individuals interested in attending the races in person, a live audience of over 30,000 spectators is anticipated in 2025. Many horse racing aficionados in the New York City tri-state area might be unaware of their relative proximity to Far Hills, situated in Hills Township, N.J., with a population of approximately 1,000 residents. The racecourse lies only 46 miles east of Manhattan and is accessible by car or ride-sharing service in under 1 ½ hours from much of the New York City vicinity. The racecourse is also reachable by car for fans in neighboring Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Connecticut. Attendees can also travel to Far Hills by train via New Jersey Transit from Hoboken or Newark on the Gladstone branch. For details on ticket options, visit www.FarHillsRace.org. Tickets for this horse racing and social gathering begin at $110 for general admission. A $250 all-inclusive buffet and open bar option is available at the Chairman’s Tent. Another choice for fans aged 21 and above is The Hunt Club for an additional $100. This area will provide front-row views of the action, along with live music, lawn games, and lounge spaces. Tailgating reserved parking spots start at $600 per vehicle.
4. McDynamo became the preeminent champion of the Grand National Steeplechase at Far Hills, securing victory in the event for five successive years from 2003 to 2007 under the guidance of trainer Sanna Neilson, including three years from 2003-’05 when the race was known as the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase. The five-year winning streak represented the highlight of an outstanding career for an American steeplechase horse. McDynamo won his steeplechase debut race as a 4-year-old at Far Hills on Oct. 20, 2001, and continued to achieve great success. He was an Eclipse Award finalist for champion steeplechase horse each year from 2002-’07, ultimately winning the award three times in 2003, 2005, and 2006. McDynamo won his final Grand National as a 10-year-old in 2007. The race purse that year was $300,000, and McDynamo was the oldest of the 43 horses competing at the Far Hills races. McDynamo was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2013, having retired as the all-time leading money-earning U.S. steeplechaser with $1,310,104, largely earned at Far Hills. Last year, Far Hills honored the esteemed McDynamo with a 2 1/8-mile hurdle race named the McDynamo Maiden Sweepstakes, which will be held for the second time in 2025 and attracted a full field of 10, plus one also-eligible entry.
5. The Grand National was formerly known as the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase, or Breeders’ Cup Grand National Steeplechase, for six years from 2000-’05, with purses ranging from $175,000 to $250,000. The Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase traces its origins back to 1986, when it was contested at Fair Hill (distinct from Far Hills) in Cecil County, Md., until 1987. It then became an annual $250,000 race that was considered an official part of the Breeders’ Cup but was not held as a component of the main Breeders’ Cup program. The race was often held at Belmont Park as part of its Super Saturday Breeders’ Cup Preview Day, frequently televised nationally, until its final staging in 1993. The race was later reinstated from 2000-’05 under a partnership agreement between the Breeders’ Cup and the National Steeplechase Association. However, the race was never again a formal part of the Breeders’ Cup program following its cancellation after the 1993 running at Belmont.
