IT'S years since both the National Hunt jockeys and trainers' championships threatened to go down to the wire.
There are two months left of the jump racing season, and it's nip and tuck at the top of both tables.
In previous years trainer Martin Pipe and Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse's leading jockey Tony McCoy have had their individual titles sewn up long before the fat lady sang.
No more. The trainers' championship is decided on prize-money. Paul Nicholls - the bookmakers' favourite who has been sending horses to Bangor-on-Dee regularly this season for the first time - leads his rival by a whisker.
The Cheltenham Festival, where he has more fancied runners than Martin Pipe, could virtually decide it. Though, if one of them was to win the Grand National, who knows?
The jockeys' championship is decided on winners. Tony McCoy, who spent part of the summer recuperating from a broken arm, leads Richard Johnson - just. Their tussle is likely to go on until the final days of the season.
Cheltenham won't decide anything for the riders. It's just too competitive. In fact, Tony McCoy is only third favourite to be top jockey at the National Hunt Festival - behind Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh.
Meanwhile, Wednesday, March 10, sees an unusual occurrence. There is racing at both the racecourses in Wales. It certainly hasn't happened for a while, but both Bangor-on-Dee and Chepstow host fixtures. The next fixture at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse is on Wednesday, March
10. The first race is at 2.15pm and gates open at 12.45pm. The next racing at Chester is the May Festival in 2004.
