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British Developmental Series Expanded with Over £3m in Prize-Money

There is now another reason – or make that 84 reasons – to look forward to the Brocklesby S. in a little over five weeks. The traditional curtain-raiser for the British two-year-old season is the first of 84 races this year to benefit from increased funding through a programme of high-value developmental races in 2024.

This initiative, which was launched last year with a series of 63 races, is driven by British stallion studs through the European Breeders' Fund (EBF), Juddmonte, Darley and Tattersalls, and will provide more than £3 million in prize-money for novice and maiden races. It is also receiving support from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Development Fund.

For the two-year-old programme, it means that 32 open novice/maiden races will be worth a minimum of £40,000, and another 29 restricted novice/maidens will carry a minimum of £30,000. There will also be 23 open novice/maiden races for three-year-olds plus, worth a minimum of £40,000.

The series was initially launched in 2023 with the backing of Juddmonte and Darley with the aim of supporting the British breeding industry and encouraging owners to buy and race in Britain.

In a press release issued on Thursday, Juddmonte noted the “healthy field sizes achieved by 2023's sponsored races (average 10.5) with an average cost of the winners at public auction just shy of £31,000.”

Juddmonte CEO Douglas Erskine Crum said, “After the success of last year's BHA initiative to kick-start a long-term plan to enhance prize-money substantially for developmental races, Juddmonte is delighted to support financially this year's further enhancements. These high prize-money developmental races directly support owners and breeders in areas that can be overlooked and thereby support our UK breeding industry.”

Sam Bullard, director of stallions at Darley shared his sentiments and added, “Following the success of last year's race series and the many positive comments received, we are delighted to continue our sponsorship of this important development fund.

“Darley remains committed to supporting breeders through both race sponsorship and our contribution to the EBF and we hope that these elements will continue to work together for the benefit of British racing.”

The involvement in the series of the British EBF, which last year boosted prize-money across British racing by £2 million from the contributions made to the fund by stallion owners, has added over £325,000 for more than 30 of the high-value developmental races.

Simon Sweeting, chairman of British EBF, said, “One of the unique features of our prize-money contributions is to encourage racecourses to 'match-fund'; it is wonderful to see the model we pioneered and embedded, replicated by our fellow sponsors in these races. For example, the Brocklesby Stakes will be run at £40,000 for the first time in 2024, a 70 per cent increase from before British stallion studs (EBF) involvement.”

He added, “By supporting these races, we hope to showcase to owners and breeders the valuable impact our stallion owners' contributions have on raising prize-money levels across the maiden and novice programme.”

Richard Wayman, chief operating officer of the BHA, acknowledged the “common purpose” behind the sponsorship of the series by the British EBF, Juddmonte, Darley and Tattersalls.

“I am extremely grateful for their support in this project, along with the many racecourses involved and the Horserace Betting Levy Board, and am confident that these races will be well supported by our owners and trainers,” he said.

“We are delighted to expand the programme of high-value developmental races for 2024. These races play a hugely important role within the race programme and yet, historically, it is an area where prize-money has been behind our international competitors. It is essential that steps are taken to retain quality horses on our shores and with over 80 of these races scheduled for the coming season, this is one initiative that we believe will support this broader aim.”

Tattersalls has also lent its support to the series by backing 10 two-year-old novice and maiden races in addition to its own bonus schemes which reward purchasers of horses at the October Yearling Sales and Craven Breeze-up Sale.

Jimmy George, Marketing Director of Tattersalls, said, “We introduced the hugely popular £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus Scheme back in 2016 with the aim of rewarding owners with the best maiden and novice prize-money in Europe. Since then we have paid out more than £8 million directly to owners and the Tattersalls support of these high-value maidens and novices is an extension of our commitment to this area of the racing programme.

“Prize-money for British Group and Listed races is the best in Europe, but maidens and novices are less competitive and alongside the BHA, EBF, Darley and Juddmonte, Tattersalls will continue to focus on this crucial sector.”

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Forty Years On, the EBF Remains the Industry’s ‘Outstanding Example of Self-Help’

In November, American racing will celebrate the 40th running of the Breeders' Cup, with $28 million in prize-money for 14 races across two days.

Breeders' Cup Limited, the organising company for this global highlight of the Flat racing programme, was founded in 1982 from an original suggestion by John Gaines, who proposed that the prize-money for the Breeders' Cup races would come from contributions made by stallion owners. The contributions paid were decided on a sliding scale relative to each stallion's nomination fee and number of mares covered in a season.

At around the same time as the Breeders' Cup was inaugurated, a group of breeders in Britain were discussing concerns surrounding the axing of Levy Board funding for two-year-old maidens. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and by the following year, that group, in association with their Irish counterparts, had suggested that a similar scheme be introduced in Europe. Christened the European Breeders' Fund (EBF), it has endured, for a time including cross-registration with Breeders' Cup Limited, but mostly independently, across four decades. Britain and Ireland were the initial member countries, with France joining shortly thereafter, and Germany, Italy and Switzerland several years later.

Where the EBF differs from the Breeders' Cup is in its support across a wide-range of races on a near-daily basis rather than one major end-of-season championship. Indeed, it was set up by a founding committee that included Peter Willett–who also played a key role in establishing the European Pattern–Bob McCreery, and Sam Sheppard, who served as chief executive of the EBF for 30 years. Early members of the co-ordinating committee included many whose names still loom large in the annals of the Turf: Major Victor McCalmont, Jonathan Irwin, Hubert de Chaudenay, Louis Romanet, Elie de Brignac, Roland de Chambure, and Michael Wates have all been succeeded by those with similarly strong ties to the breeding scene and with a shared desire to ensure its continued success.

As it celebrates its 40th anniversary, the EBF can be considered a crucial component of the funding mechanism for European racing, with more than €130 million allocated during that time making it one of the largest sponsors in the sport. It currently distributes around €5 million per year to boost the prize-money in races restricted to EBF-eligible horses. Those include all of the juvenile maidens run at France's metropolitan tracks, along with 90% of two-year-old maidens run in France, and 75% in Britain. That support is no longer restricted to the juvenile division, with funding extended to three-year-old maidens, selected fillies' handicaps, some Listed contests, and a variety of National Hunt races.

“Because of the strength of the European stallion market it has become even more important,” says Kerry Murphy, who has been CEO of the EBF for the last decade. “In the 40 years it has been running, the income into the fund has really grown and grown, and that's due to the success of those European stallions, their fees rising, and the number of mares using them. We pull the money in, and that money goes straight back out into prize-money the following year.”

More than 650 stallions are registered with the EBF and that is not confined just to those standing in Europe. Japan's Shadai operation registers all of its powerful roster of stallions, while Lane's End Farm, a long-term supporter of the EBF, has recently signed up its star new recruit Flightline.

EBF chairman John O'Connor says, “It's a very cohesive piece of support from the stallions masters right across Europe. Big, small, National Hunt, Flat, and that cohesion is really important. It's a way for the stallion industry to give back to the industry that it generates its income from.”

So ubiquitous are the letters EBF in the title sponsorships of races that it has become all too easy to accept them as part of the wallpaper without truly appreciating the worth of what they stand for. But, while other schemes have come and gone, it has stood the test of time, its strength indicative of the health of the European stallion market and the desire from many breeders worldwide to invest in this part of the world.

It remains, as described in its founding years by the former British Home Secretary William Whitelaw, “an outstanding example of self-help”.

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Entries Open for Irish EBF Barrier Trials at Dundalk

Entries are now open for Irish EBF Barrier Trials, which will be held at Dundalk Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Trials are open to unraced 2- and 3-year-olds and return to Dundalk for the first time since August, 2022. They will be contested over five, six and seven furlongs.

The most recent Irish EBF Barrier Trials, held at Naas Racecourse in May, have already produced multiple winners, including Royal Ascot winner Snellen (Ire) (Expert Eye {GB}), listed winner Warnie (Ire) (Highland Root {Ire}), group-placed Mythology (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), and multiple winner Lexington Belle (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}).

The Trials, backed by the Irish EBF and the IHRB, are recorded, timed, and made available to view online shortly after running on the ITM website and social media. A live stream will also be in operation on the ITM YouTube channel.
For more information and to make an entry visit the ITM website.

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Deadline to Register to EBF June 30

The deadline to register 2-year-olds to the European Breeders Fund by a stallion not registered to the EBF is Friday, June 30.

“Owners and trainers looking to campaign a horse in Europe should check that it is EBF nominated as over 80% of 2-year-old maiden/novice races are confined to EBF eligibles,” said Kerry Murphy of the EBF said. “Once eligible, horses can compete for a pool of over €5million available in added prizemoney throughout Europe, including the valuable series being staged in GB and Ireland. This nomination stage largely relates to horses by stallions standing in North America”.

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