The Tommy Whittle Chase is a National Hunt handicap chase in England which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of 3 miles (4,828 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in December.
The race was first run in 1982, and is named in honour of the late Tommy Whittle, a director of Haydock Park for 30 years, 13 of which were spent as Chairman.
In 2004 the race had Grade 2 status and was considered sufficiently important to be included in the British Horseracing Board's new Order of Merit series. However, the following year it was turned into a handicap, and as a result has since attracted a lower grade of runners.
References
Tommy Whittle Chase Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA