| Head of the River Race | |
|---|---|
 Crews racing under Hammersmith Bridge at HORR 2005 | |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Championship Course, River Thames in London, England |
| Years active | 1925–1936, 1938–1939, 1946–2003, 2005–2006, 2008–2012, 2014–2016, 2018–2019, 2022– |
| Previous event | 18 March 2023 |
| Next event | 23 March 2024 |
| Participants | approximately 340 to 420 crews |
| Organised by | HoRR Committee, British Rowing [a] |
| Website | www |
| Latest Head Pennant winning crew: Oxford Brookes University  | |
The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River Race and Veterans' Head of the River Race. Its competitors are, with a few experienced junior exceptions, seniors of UK or overseas competitors and it runs with the ebb tide down the 4.25 mile (6.8 km) Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney which hosts the Oxford and Cambridge head-to-head races usually between one and two weeks later.
The race was founded on a much smaller scale, in 1925, by Steve Fairbairn – an influential rower then rowing coach of the early 20th century, who transformed the sport into one involving today's lengthier slides enabling conventional (Fairbairnized) racing shell propulsion.
"My dear boy, you are under a wrong impression. It is not a race, it is merely a means of getting crews to do long rows"
— Steve Fairbairn, founder of the race
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