Coral Scottish National prize-money rises to £200,000 after Ayr cash injection

The Coral Scottish Grand National has received a £50,000 boost to its prize fund for 2023, with the return to pre-Covid levels of £200,000 meaning the race is set to retain its position as the third most valuable handicap chase in Britain.

The raise is part of general increases across Ayr's biggest two days of the jumps season. Back to its traditional slot a week after Aintree – following a one-off calendar switch which saw 2022's race precede the Grand National – Scotland's premier chase will be run on April 22.

Ayr's managing director David Brown said: "We've been working hard to get our biggest race in the jumping calendar up to £200,000 and we're delighted that our ongoing partnership with Coral has helped us make sure the Coral Scottish Grand National festival will be one of the biggest two-day jumps fixtures of the year.

"The race is a major part of sporting life in Scotland and we look forward to hosting another high-class field of staying chasers for an event with a rich racing history, with our supporting races over the two days sure to attract major interest from Britain and Ireland."

Ayr managing director David Brown: 'The race is a major part of sporting life in Scotland'Credit: David Carr

The Ayr executive and their sponsors have injected cash into the main supporting races across the meeting, which is now worth at total in excess of £600,000.

Saturday will feature the Grade 2 Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle at £75,000, while the feature on Friday is the £50,000 Hillhouse Quarry Handicap Chase.

The Scottish National was last run for £200,000 in 2019, when it was third only to the Grand National and what is now the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in terms of the richest handicap chases in Britain.

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