Brit will sponsor an integrated seasonal package in the National Hunt Calendar comprising four three-mile Grade 2 Novices' Hurdle races culminating in a new race at next year's four-day Cheltenham Festival.
The series kicks-off with the £35,000 Brit Insurance Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham Racecourse, on Saturday, December 11.
Two further Brit Insurance Novices’ Hurdle races - each also carrying a £30,000 prize fund - will then be staged at Doncaster on Saturday, January 29 and at Haydock Park on Saturday, February 19.
The Cheltenham and Doncaster races will be broadcast on Channel Four, whilst Haydock's race is covered during BBC Grandstand.
The culmination of the four race series will be the newly created £75,000 Brit Insurance Novices’ Hurdle on the Friday of the 2005 Cheltenham Festival, National Hunt racing's most prestigious meeting.
The 3-mile Brit Insurance Novices’ Hurdle will be televised live as part of Channel 4's Festival coverage on Friday, March 18, 2005 with an expected audience of more than one million viewers and an audience share of between 10 and 20 per cent.
