Ascot To Offer Record Prize Money In 2022

Ascot Racecourse today announces record prize money of £15.64 million (about US$17.64 million) in 2022 with increases across the Flat and Jumps programs.

This represents an increase of nearly £2 million (US$2.26 million) on 2019 values (from £13.67m, US$15.42m), or 14.4 percent, being the last year when planned prize money was distributed before the pandemic impacted 2020. These figures exclude the industry partnership QIPCO British Champions Day.

Royal Ascot (June 14 – 18, 2022) will be worth £8,652,500 (US$9.76m), an increase of £1,322,500 (US$1.49m) (18 percent) on 2019 values which totaled £7,330,000 (US$8.27m).

Highlights include:

– The Royal Ascot Tuesday card, featuring three Group One races, becomes Royal Ascot's first £2 million (US$2.26m) day.

– The Prince of Wales's Stakes and the Platinum (formerly Diamond) Jubilee Stakes will become the first races at Royal Ascot to be run with a total prize fund of £1 million (US$1.13m).

– No race at Royal Ascot will be run for less than £100,000 (US$112,800).

Outside Royal Ascot:

– The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes returns to its pre-pandemic value of £1.25 million (US$1.41m).

– A record £550,000 (US$620,380) will be offered at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. The program will increase to eight races (from six) with 12 runners in each race (from 10). Details of the team format will follow in 2022.

– All Flat races will be worth at least £15,000 (US$16,920) and all Jumps races will be worth at least £10,000 (US$11,280) (excluding three National Hunt Flat races and one Hunters' Chase at £5,000, US$5,640).

– There will be additional £25,000 (US$28,200) stable prizes offered on both QIPCO King George Diamond Day (July 23, 2022) and Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Day (Aug. 6, 2022). These will be awarded £20,000 (US$22,560) to the trainers and £5,000 (US$5,640) to stable staff across the top three performing yards based on points achieved for first to fifth placings.

– All plans remain subject to change depending on the COVID-19 landscape.

Guy Henderson, Chief Executive Officer at Ascot Racecourse, said:

“We are pleased to be able to announce a return to our pre-pandemic prize money plans as we re-build. Whilst these plans have been unavoidably delayed, today is about looking forward. It is vital we maintain the quality of the British Pattern and the top end program generally. For obvious reasons, a large proportion of the increases announced today are focused on our 35 races at the Royal Meeting.

“Prize money is racing's equivalent of remunerating the players on the pitch. We need to offer the best we can in order to attract the best and help maintain international investment in British racing. Our next ambition, as we build Ascot as a global brand wrapped around world class racing, is to be able to offer at least £1m for each of our nine Group One races in the coming years.

“Field sizes for races of both codes are under pressure. With this in mind, we have applied a number of targeted increases across our program and raised our minimum prize money levels for both codes. Specifically, we have made some changes to QIPCO King George Diamond Weekend and expanded the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup to eight races with fields of 12; the established races increase from £60,000 to £75,000 and we have added two new £50,000 races.

“Our aim is for the stable prizes to incentivize owners and trainers to target these two fixtures and build on the successful trial at this year's Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.

“I wish to conclude by thanking Ascot's staff, our customers and commercial partners for all their loyal support in 2021 which has so significantly contributed to the business being able to advance again in 2022.”

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Ascot To Pay Out Record Prizemoney In 2022

Ascot Racecourse will offer record prizemoney of £15.64-million across its flat and jumps programmes in 2022, up nearly £2-million (14.4%) on 2019, the last year that planned prizemoney was distributed before the pandemic. These figures exclude the industry partnership QIPCO British Champions Day.

Royal Ascot on June 14 to 18 will offer £8,652,500, up 18% on 2019. Royal Ascot Tuesday will be the meeting's first-ever card to reach £2-million in prizemoney, and the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. (formerly the Diamond Jubilee S.) will be the meeting's first races contested for £1-million. The minimum purse at Royal Ascot will be £100,000.

Outside of Royal Ascot, the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. will return to its pre-pandemic value of £1.25-million. The minimum purse for flat races will be £15,000, and the Shergar Cup will be worth a record £550,000 as it goes from six races to eight, with 12 runners in each, up from 10. An additional £25,000 in stable prizes will be offered on King George day and at the Shergar Cup.

Guy Henderson, chief executive officer at Ascot Racecourse, said, “We are pleased to be able to announce a return to our pre-pandemic prize money plans as we re-build. Whilst these plans have been unavoidably delayed, today is about looking forward. It is vital we maintain the quality of the British Pattern and the top end programme generally. For obvious reasons, a large proportion of the increases announced today are focused on our 35 races at the Royal Meeting.

“Prize money is racing's equivalent of remunerating the players on the pitch. We need to offer the best we can in order to attract the best and help maintain international investment in British racing. Our next ambition, as we build Ascot as a global brand wrapped around world-class racing, is to be able to offer at least £1-million for each of our nine Group 1 races in the coming years.

“Field sizes for races of both codes are under pressure. With this in mind, we have applied a number of targeted increases across our programme and raised our minimum prize money levels for both codes. Specifically, we have made some changes to QIPCO King George Diamond Weekend and expanded the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup to eight races with fields of 12; the established races increase from £60,000 to £75,000 and we have added two new £50,000 races. Our aim is for the stable prizes to incentivise owners and trainers to target these two fixtures and build on the successful trial at this year's Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.

“I wish to conclude by thanking Ascot's staff, our customers and commercial partners for all their loyal support in 2021 which has so significantly contributed to the business being able to advance again in 2022.”

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Henderson To Step Down As Ascot CEO

Guy Henderson will retire from his position as chief executive officer of Ascot after next year's Royal meeting, which will be his eighth in that position. Henderson said, “We make this announcement as the process to appoint the next CEO begins. Meanwhile, it remains business as usual as we deliver the remainder of the 2021 racing and events programme and build towards Royal Ascot 2022 in the Platinum Jubilee year. This will be a unique event at Ascot about which we are all very excited.”

Sir Francis Brooke, Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot and Chairman, added, “Guy's leadership at Ascot has been transformational since he became CEO in January 2015. He raised the business to a new level of success and then had to face the enormous challenge of running two successive Royal Meetings in the midst of a global pandemic. Both last year and this, he and the whole Ascot team rose to that challenge magnificently and delivered the best event possible in the circumstances.

“This transition process has been planned and we now look forward to Guy leading the business until Royal Ascot 2022, while the process for the appointment of the next CEO begins.”

Executive Search specialists Spencer Stuart have been appointed to identify Henderson's replacement candidates.

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Royal Ascot Purses Increased To $7.13 Million For 2021

Prize money for Royal Ascot 2021 is today announced at £6 million (US$7.13 million) over the week – a 66% increase on the £3.61m (US$4.21m) offered in 2020. The Royal Meeting will take place from June 15 to 19 and the full order of running with race values for the extended program announced in January is available here.

The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes, which takes place in July, will be run for £875,000 (US$1.04m) (2020: £400,000 (US$475,500)).

Guy Henderson, Chief Executive Officer at Ascot Racecourse, said:

“In 2020 we had hoped to offer record prize money of more than £8 million (US$9.51m) at the Royal Meeting. In the event the pandemic made that impossible and we have now spent nearly a year racing behind closed doors with trading income down 80 percent. This year's prize money of £6 million represents 75 percent of what we had originally planned for 2020.

“With restricted attendances in 2021 and pandemic insurance cover no longer available, the business will need to absorb a significant loss this year in order to deliver our wish to support the industry with the most prize money that we can prudently afford. Whilst Covid-19 has knocked back our long term financial trajectory by several years, our aim is to make the largest steps we can towards getting prize money levels back on track as soon as possible.

“Without owners we would have no racing. We are very grateful for their commitment and thank them for their support. We look forward to being able to increase prize money further as soon as it is possible for us to do so.

“We are also very grateful to our official partners, QIPCO and Longines, as well as our official suppliers, sponsors, broadcast partners and betting media partners. All of their support is deeply appreciated.

“We at Ascot much look forward to being able to welcome back our racegoers in June and delivering a special week of racing, both for those who are able to be with us on site and the many millions who will be with us in spirit through our broadcast and digital channels.”

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