Becher Chase
| Grade 3 race | |
| Location |
Aintree Racecourse Merseyside, England |
|---|---|
| Race type | Steeplechase |
| Sponsor | Betfred |
| Website | Aintree |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 3 miles 2 furlongs (5,230 metres) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Six-years-old and up |
| Weight | Handicap |
| Purse |
£140,000 (2016) 1st: £78,582 |
The Becher Chase is a Grade Three National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (5,230 metres), and during its running there are twenty-one fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in November or December.
It is run over the same fences as Aintree's most famous race, the Grand National, and it serves as an early-season trial for that event. Two winners have gone on to win the Grand National; Amberleigh House and Silver Birch. Earth Summit won the race in 1998 following his Grand National win the prior April.
One of the obstacles jumped is Becher's Brook, which is named in memory of Martin Becher (1799–1864). The Becher Chase was established in 1992, when a new race meeting was introduced at Aintree. For the twenty years prior to this, the Grand National meeting had been the venue's only horse racing fixture of the year. It is currently sponsored by the betting company Betfred. The Becher Chase was upgraded to Grade Three by the British Horseracing Board from its 2014 running.
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