Far Hills Race Meeting is New Jersey’s premier social and sporting event. For nearly a century, this annual gathering has attracted a large and loyal fan base who return, year after year, to watch the world’s finest steeplechases, reconnect with family and friends, network, support worthy causes and make memories to last a lifetime. Over the years, Far Hills Race Meeting has given more than $18 million to support local health-care organizations. With its newly introduced pari-mutuel wagering program, Far Hills Race Meeting—which boasts the largest purses in the industry—is bringing steeplechase racing to new audiences, locally, nationally and globally.

The Far Hills Race Meeting traces its origins to the Essex Hunt, a fox hunting event founded in Montclair, NJ in 1870. In 1913, the organizers of the Essex Hunt incorporated as the Essex Fox Hounds.

In the tradition of these clubs, the Essex Fox Hounds established an event to thank the farmers and landowners who allowed them to hunt on their property. The Farmer’s Day Race Meeting, as it became known, included the New Jersey Hunt Cup Steeplechase — a race that remains on the Far Hills Race Meeting card today.

In 1916, the event moved from the original club site to the Grant B. Schley estate — today known as Moorland Farm. Eventually becoming the Far Hills Race Meeting, the races have been continually run—with the exception of a short hiatus during World War II—on the same site.

The Far Hills Race Meeting currently offers some of the richest purses in America and is host of the The Grand National steeplechase, the most prestigious race in American steeplechasing. Today, Moorland Farm is also home to the property’s second event, the Essex Horse Trials, a 2-day eventing weekend for riders and their horses to compete in a 3-phase competition including Dressage, Cross-Country and Show Jumping. To learn more, please visit essexhorsetrials.org.