[1] It is the leading long-distance hurdle event in the National Hunt calendar and the feature race on the third day of the Festival.
The inaugural race was run in 1912 at Prestbury Park over 3 miles with £100 (£200 in 1913) prize money to the winner and £10 to the runner-up.
[2] The race was dropped from the festival programme twice during 1928–1929 and in 1939–1945 but in 1946 it replaced the Spa Hurdle which was previously run in 1923 and 1942 over 2 miles.
The title of the race was changed to the World Hurdle when Ladbrokes took over the sponsorship in 2005.
In 2017 and 2018 it was sponsored by Sun Bets and the title reverted to the Stayers' Hurdle.