What is the difference between flat racing and jump racing?

They are effectively two different sports sharing an animal, with different horses, seasons, distances, careers and traditions.

Flat racing. Run on the level with no obstacles, over distances from 5 furlongs (1,000m) to around 2 miles 6 furlongs, with most championship races between a mile and a mile and a half.

The horses are bred for speed and precocity. They race from age two, peak at three to four, and the most valuable are retired early to stud — a colt winning a Classic may never race again after three, because breeding earns far more than prize money.

The Classics — in Britain, the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas, the Derby, the Oaks and the St Leger — are restricted to three-year-olds, so a horse gets one chance at each.

The season runs predominantly through summer, with all-weather racing year round.

Jump racing (National Hunt) is run over hurdles or fences, over distances from around 2 miles to the Grand National's 4 miles 2 furlongs.

Hurdles are lower and more flexible, and horses generally run faster over them. Chases use bigger, stiffer fences requiring accurate jumping, and are the senior discipline.

The horses are bred for stamina and jumping ability. They start later — usually at three or four over hurdles — and peak much later, often at seven to ten. Careers are far longer, and geldings are common precisely because there is no breeding value to protect, which means jump horses become known to the public over many seasons in a way flat horses rarely do.

The season is predominantly winter, on softer ground.

Bumpers — National Hunt flat races — introduce young jumpers to racecourses before they jump.

Cheltenham and Aintree are the jumping showpieces; Ascot and Epsom the flat equivalents.