McCoy Awards delayed until 2025 as Jockey Club looks to reduce costs

The McCoy Awards will not be staged in 2024 with organisers the Jockey Club delaying the event to help reduce costs.

The popular awards night, which takes place at Cheltenham racecourse and celebrates the best of jump racing, will return in October 2025. This will be the first year it has not taken place since its launch in 2017.

The delay comes as the racecourse group, which includes Cheltenham, Aintree, Newmarket and Epsom among its 16 tracks, continues to experience financial pressures. 

In April, the Jockey Club announced it would cut its prize-money contribution by £1.5 million due to "very, very significant financial headwinds", while inflation, falling attendances and stricter gambling regulation were blamed as its operating profit dropped from £20.2m to £12.7m in 2023.

The awards, named after the 20-time champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy, comprises 12 categories highlighting the most successful horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and stable staff across the Jockey Club's portfolio of races. All awards are sponsored, according to the Jockey Club website.

A Jockey Club spokesperson said: "The McCoy Awards has proved a great way to celebrate jump racing excellence across all of our racecourses since it first took place in 2017. 

"It remains a great event for the industry and we look forward to welcoming it back to Cheltenham racecourse on Friday, October 10, 2025."

Constitution Hill was named horse of the season in 2023, while Paul Townend, JP McManus, Harry Skelton and Paul Nicholls were among the winners.

The event usually kickstarts Cheltenham's racing season before its two-day Showcase meeting at the end of October. It is a season of change at the track with Guy Lavender set to replace long-serving director Ian Renton at the helm in the new year.

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