Royal meeting the focus as Ascot prize-money set to soar to record £17m

Ascot's prize-money for next year will amount to a record £17 million over 25 fixtures as the course focuses on the need to compete with huge sums offered elsewhere to top-class performers on the Flat.

That figure represents an increase of of 8.5 per cent on this year's total, which was itself up by more than 14 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

It means Ascot will shell out something like a tenth of all prize-money offered in Britain, which was projected to reach £170m this year. The track's figure excludes the purses offered on Qipco British Champions Day, a fixture which is owned by the industry.

Much of the increase will be aimed at Royal Ascot, prize-money for which will go up by ten per cent to £9.52m. Every Group 1 race in the week will now be worth at least £600,000, up from £500,000, a rise which affects the Gold Cup, the King's Stand Stakes, the St James's Palace, the Coronation and the Commonwealth Cup. The fund for the Queen Anne Stakes will soar by 25 per cent to £750,000.

There will also be more money for other Group races, the King Edward VII, the Duke of Cambridge, the Ribblesdale, the Hampton Court and the Jersey. The minimum prize-money for any race at the meeting will continue to be £100,000.

Ascot's officials have decided to have another go at boosting the standing of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, despite the frustrating experience this year of having to backtrack on a planned increase in field sizes out of concern that insufficient horses were available. The August meeting will be worth £640,000, an increase of 15 per cent, while there will continue to be £25,000 in stable bonuses that day and on King George day.

Jump racing is also to benefit, with the track's two midwinter Grade 1s, the Clarence House Chase and the Betfair Ascot Chase, being run for £175,000, up from £150,000. The two races drew a combined total of 12 runners this year, although the clash between Shishkin and Energumene in the Clarence House provided memorable drama.

"We are delighted to have reached the £17m prize-money mark for the first time," said Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing. "It's never been so important to focus on the top end of the British programme, with competition for the best horses so intense internationally.

"Against a backdrop of reduced central funding, an increase of more than £1.1m or almost 14 per cent in executive contribution has been required to get to this figure. That represents a significant investment and, while many of the headline increases are at Royal Ascot, there are also boosts to Class 2 and Class 3 handicaps on the Flat driven by the welcome increase to minimum values in this area.

"We have focused again on raising the profile of the Shergar Cup, which attracts international jockey talent from around the world, and are delighted that each of the eight races will be worth £80,000.

"We are also pleased to improve returns for developmental races, including two high-value maidens on the Flat, while over jumps our five Saturday meetings will all feature at least one £100,000 handicap."

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