The first running of the Potomac Hunt Races took place in 1952, and has been an annual tradition ever since. Each year, the Potomac Hunt partners with a charity which benefits from the proceeds of the races.

Steeplechase racing is a form of horse racing that originated in Ireland in the eighteenth century and spread rapidly to England and to the United States thereafter. In a time when church steeples were often the highest landmark in a neighborhood, racing from an agreed-upon starting point to the church over whatever lay in between – ditches, fallen timber, and the like – was an exciting form of racing. Nowadays, steeplechase races are conducted on regular racecourses and generally vary in length between two and four miles.