Cheltenham Gold Cup Vs Kentucky Derby

Both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Kentucky Derby are among the biggest, richest, and oldest horse races in the world. Although it’s true that comparisons between these two world class races are quite common, they have more dissimilarities between them than similarities.

For example, the Kentucky Derby is an American flat race, while the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a British jump race. This puts the two racesintwo separate categories of horse racing altogether. Does it mean comparing the Cheltenham Gold Cup with the Kentucky Derby is impossible? Of course not, because there are several grounds on which they can indeed be compared with each other. Stay with us as we pit the The Run for the Roses against the Blue Ribband next.

Date & Time: The Fans Win

It’s thehorse racing fans who win this one because there’s usually a gap of roughly six weeks between the Cheltenham Gold Cup in mid-March and the Kentucky Derby in Early May. Those betting on the Cheltenham Gold Cup get a reprieve and just enough time to prepare their betting plans for the Kentucky Derbynext.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup will startat 3:30pm (GMT), on Friday, 18th March, 2022,which means that it’s almost here! In case you don’t yet have a betting strategy prepared for the Gold Cup, these Cheltenham Festival betting tips will help you get started with it immediately.

The Kentucky Derby is scheduledas the 12th race on Saturday 7thMay and it will start at roughly 6:09pm EST (GMT – 5). Keep in mind that Western Kentucky follows CST (GMT – 6), so the race will start at roughly 5:09pm if you live inMadisonville or Calvert City for example. Use this handy time zone calculator to know exactly when the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Kentucky Derby will start in your own time zone.

Prize Money

The Cheltenham Gold Cup 2022 will have a prize pool of £625,000 in 2022, which converts toroughly $848,000. The Kentucky Derby, on the other hand, has a prize pool of $3 million, which is equal to roughly £2.1 million. It’s safe to say that as far as prize money is concerned, the Kentucky Derby wins this one by a long shot.

Age and Status

It’s true that theCheltenham Gold Cup became a Group 1 steeplechase in 1924, but it was started as a flat race way back in 1819. There’s history here that spans over a period of 200+ years. The Cheltenham Gold Cup has become one of the premiere jump racing events in Europe today, bringingthousandsto the Cheltenham Racecourse and millions in front of a screenevery year in March.

On the other hand, the Kentucky Derby is going to be 148years old in 2022, having been inaugurated in 1875. As the first leg of the American Triple Crown, the race is widely considered to be among the most respected flat races in United States. Just like the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Kentucky Derbyis also a Grade I horse race exclusive to thoroughbreds.With millions of viewers across the planet, the 2km racehas earned its nickname of beingthe most exciting two minutes in sports.

We have a tie here because the Cheltenham Gold Cup has more history and equestrian heritage on its side, while the Kentucky Derby is financially much bigger, and it hasheld on to a steadier lineage.Unfortunately, the recent controversies surrounding Medina Spirit’s death will have an impact on the race’s previously untarnished reputation.

Difficulty

The National Hunt eventsare among the toughest horse races in the world.Other than the Grand National, no other jump race in the UK can surpass the Cheltenham Gold Cup in terms of difficulty and that’s part of the reason why it is held in such high regard across the world.Racing over 5,294 metres (5.3 km) while jumping 22 steeple fencesis inarguably, a lotharderthanthe 2km flat run. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a winner in this race against the Kentucky Derby.

The truth is that both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Kentucky Derby are excellent, prestigious, and rich horse races in their respective categories. Finding a winner is not necessary here because we don’t need to choose one over the other at all. You can watch and bet on both races without missing out on any of the horse racing action between the two.

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