France's Prix Saint-Alary will has been downgraded from Group 1 to Group 2 status and is one of five Group races to have been demoted, while Britain's G3 Sovereign S., traditionally run at Salisbury, will not be staged.

In Ireland, the Salsabil S. has been upgraded from a Listed race to a Group 3, and a new Listed contest has been introduced at Gowran Park in late July, which is to be run over 12 furlongs and is for three-year-olds only.

Denmark is to stage a new black-type race after Klampenborg's Golden Mile for three-years-olds was upgraded to Listed status.

The EPC ratified a total of 826 black-type races, down from 838 in 2023, comprising 415 Group races (418 in 2023) and 411 Listed races (420). 

 EPC chair Jason Morris said, “This year will see another contraction in the number of Pattern and Listed races to be staged throughout Europe, with the total number having declined from 852 races in 2022 to 826 in 2024. The European Pattern Committee continues to enforce the most stringent international quality control measures so that the racing and breeding industries can have the utmost confidence in the quality of European black type. 

“However, this also reflects a worrying overall decline in the ratings of European black-type races, with an increasing number of races coming under review and many three-year-old races in particular struggling to achieve their required parameters. The reported increasing exports of quality horses overseas is of concern to the EPC, and the major European racing nations are committed to working together to ensure the continued production and retention of sufficient high-class horses to sustain our domestic and international programmes, with a particular focus on the middle distance and staying race areas.”

Downgraded Races for 2024

France

•    Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary downgraded to Group 2

Germany

•    Listed Grosser Preis von Rossman loses Listed status

•    Listed Grosser Preis der VGH Versicherungen loses Listed status

•    Listed Bwin Sommerpreis loses Listed status

Ireland

•    Group 3 Gladness downgraded to Listed

•    Listed Patton loses Listed status

Italy

•    Group 2 Premio Presidente della Repubblica downgraded to Group 3

•    Group 3 Premio Carlo d'Alessio downgraded to Listed

•    Listed Pisa loses Listed status 

•    Listed Regione Toscana loses Listed status

•    Listed Emanuele Filiberto loses Listed status

•    Listed Tadolina loses Listed status

•    Listed Criterium Varesino Mem Virginio Curti loses Listed status

•    Listed M.Se Ippolito Fassati di Balzola loses Listed status

Sweden

•    Listed Jagersro Sprint loses Listed status

Turkey

•    Group 2 Bosphorus Cup downgraded to Group 3

There have also been some adjustments to notable Pattern races. In France, the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud will move one week earlier, reverting to its traditional slot at Saint-Cloud's fixture on June 30, as will the G2 Prix Eugene Adam. Saint-Cloud has also gained the G1 Prix Royal-Oak from ParisLongchamp.

Both German Guineas will be run nine days earlier, with the G2 German 2000 Guineas scheduled for May 20 and the G2 German 1000 Guineas to be run on May 26. The G2 Grosser Preis der Badischen Wirtschaft will be pushed back to June 2.

In Britain, there have been alterations to the race conditions for two black-type juvenile races. For the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot, horses will no longer be eligible to qualify via their dam's performance. The race reverts to a stallion-only qualification, as was the case prior to 2019. The horse's sire must have won over at least 10 furlongs. In the G3 Acomb S., the win restriction has been removed from the race conditions to boost the potential pool of eligible horses. 

There will also be two changes to race titles in Britain in 2024: Haydock's G3 Pinnacle S. will be renamed as the Lester Piggott S., and the Listed Ben Marshall S. at Nottingham will become the Robin Hood S.

'At Risk' Races for 2025

 A total of 42 Pattern and Listed races have been classified as at risk of a potential downgrade in 2025, including the G1 Commonwealth Cup, run over six furlongs for three-year-olds only at Royal Ascot.  The breakdown by country is as follows:

Britain – 3
France – 6
Germany – 7
Ireland – 5
Italy – 20
Turkey – 1

Britain's Dismay at Group 1 Veto 

In Britain, “notable increases to minimum values” have been announced for Pattern and Listed races, while the ongoing strategic review of the programme has led to the voluntary deletion of three black-type races for 2024 – the G3 Sovereign S., York's Listed Ganton S. and the Listed Scarborough S., which is run at Doncaster. This follows the removal of 11 Group 3 and Listed races in 2023.

The BHA Flat Pattern Committee had sought upgrades to Group 1 status for the City Of York S. at the Ebor Festival and the Long Distance Cup on British Champions Day, both of which were turned down by the EPC.

“After more than a decade of building towards Britain's first 7f Group 1 in the City Of York Stakes, with the open encouragement of the EPC, the race achieved the required rating parameter in 2023,” said Ruth Quinn, the BHA's director of international racing and development.

“Sadly, however, it seemed the committee could not support this upgrade unanimously at this time. We remain hopeful of working with the committee to demonstrate why our ambition would be of collective benefit to the European Pattern, in the same way as we will for the Long Distance Cup on QIPCO's British Champions Day in order for that too to become a long-awaited and much-deserved Group 1 race.”

She continued, “We in Britain continue to believe that European racing is stronger on the worldwide stage when we work together.

“The Pattern Committees have much to contribute within the wider strategy for the sport, particularly in terms of incentivising the continued production and retention of sufficient high-class horses to uphold our place on the international stage. The particular focus on the middle-distance and staying horses must continue – an area which the FPC has helped champion for some time as has been highlighted in the past.

“Our Pattern remains strong, but there are some distinct signs of fraying in certain areas and the industry needs to address these with some urgency.”

As already noted, the G1 Commonwealth Cup has been placed on the watch list for a potential downgrade, depending on its performance this year, along with the G2 Temple S. at Haydock Park and the G3 Chester Vase.

France Frustrated by Saint-Alary Demotion

Despite its move forward in the calendar last year to “Poules d'Essai Sunday”,  which brought about an upturn in the number of runners to 10 from six the previous year, the Prix Saint-Alary obtained a rating of just 107.75 in 2023. From 2021 to 2023 its average was 108.42, which is below the required rating of 111 for a Group 1 for three-year-old fillies.

In a press release from France Galop, deputy managing director Henri Pouret said, “The demotion of the Prix Saint-Alary to Group 2 is particularly frustrating but it falls within the framework of the quality control rules established by the EPC. This event should lead us to reflect broadly on the subject of Listed and Group races which have not reached the required level in recent years. To this end, the President of France Galop, Guillaume de Saint-Seine, recently decided to create a specific Committee for French Group and Listed races.”

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Also with effect from Mar. 1, Jonathan Mullin, who has served as Director of Communications and Public Affairs since 2017, will be taking over the position of Director of Racing. HRI has begun recruiting for a new Director of Communications and Public Affairs.

From Jan. 1, Shane Doyle will be moving to the position of Breeding Development Manager with Andrew Finnegan, currently Assistant Race Planning Manager and Scheduling Manager, succeeding Shane as Race Planning Manager.

For more information, click here.

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The seminar featured a panel of top experts–Kevin Blake, Stuart Boman, Ado McGuinness, Jason Morris and John Oxx, with ITBA Chairman Cathy Grassick taking on hosting duties.

The discussion–Sprinters, Stayers and Everything in Between–analyzed breeding for different distances to suit market demands, as well as changes in trends over the past number of years and what the future might look like. The panel's lively discussion included points on varying trends within the Flat breeding and racing sector, international markets, balancing speed versus stamina and market demand.

“Distance horses are still speedy horses,” champion trainer and Staffordstown Stud Director John Oxx said. “Carrying speed for longer is what we are trying to produce. The superior athletic specimen.”

ITBA Chief Executive Una Tormey said, ”A huge thanks to the Curragh Racecourse for facilitating ITBA's Flat Seminar and to our great panel for giving up their time ahead of a busy Derby Festival weekend. The discussion provided some valued insights into all matters pertaining to the current trends around breeding for markets demands. Those in attendance provided plenty of comments and questions throughout the afternoon and the debate was well balanced and informative. There were lots of food for thought and plenty of key items were discussed. I would encourage those who missed the event to watch it back via ITBA website.”

The Seminar can be viewed in full by visiting the ITBA website or YouTube Channel.

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There will be 827 black-type races run in Europe this year, compared to the 852 in 2022, while group races have been cut by 13 to 412 and listed races drop to 415 from 427.

One of the most significant changes to the Irish programme comes in the case of the seven-furlong 2000 Guineas Trial, run at Leopardstown in April, being upgraded to a Group 3 from listed status. Ireland will also stage a new listed race for fillies and mares aged three years and older over eight furlongs at Navan in June.

Germany will stage two new listed races in 2023, both with a view to strengthening the stayers' black-type programme in that country. The first will be a race for 3-year-olds and older over 3000m at Hannover in July and the other will be a race for 2-year-olds over a distance of 2000m, also at Hannover, and scheduled for October.

However, the Italian racing programme has largely been downgraded, with the G2 Milano and G2 Federico Tesio, changed to Group 3s while the G3 Tudini, G3 Umbria and G3 Sergio Cumani all demoted to listed events.

Speaking about the changes, Jason Morris, the Chairman of the European Pattern Committee, said, “2023 will see a significant reduction in the number of Flat group and listed races staged within Europe, with 25 less black-type races to be staged overall. This reflects the voluntary downgrades that Britain has already announced for this year to aid the competitiveness of their Pattern race programme as part of an ongoing strategic review.

“Downgrades were also applied by the European Pattern Committee to a number of Group 2, Group 3 and listed races under ground rules which strictly enforce the highest standards of international quality control with underperforming races facing automatic demotion.

“At the same time the committee remains keen to encourage the development of the sport in the smaller racing jurisdictions throughout Europe, and Poland will now become the 11th country with a black-type race in 2023 (Britain, France, Germany and Ireland are full EPC members; Italy, Scandinavia (representing Denmark, Norway and Sweden) and Turkey are associate members; while Spain and Poland are emerging nations with one listed race each).”

Boost for Polish and Swedish Programme

While the Italian fixture list has been hit with a number of downgrades, the Eastern European programme in Poland and the Scandinavian division in Sweden has been boosted by a number of upgrades.

Sweden will stage a new black-type race in 2023, with the Challenge S. at Bro Park over seven furlongs for 3-year-olds and older being upgraded to listed status.

The EPC also agreed to upgrade Poland's flagship race, the Wielka Warszawska, to listed status as part of the committee's support of the emerging racing nations in the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation. The race will be run at Sluzewiec in Warsaw on the first Sunday of October, over a distance of 2600m for 3-year-olds and older.

Other changes were some alterations in dates for notable Pattern races in Europe in 2023. In France, the G1 Prix Saint-Alary at ParisLongchamp will move from late May to the Poule d'Essai fixture on May 14. The G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud will move back by a week to Saint Cloud's evening fixture on July 8.

In Ireland, the G2 Curragh Cup will move from the Irish Derby weekend in late June to the Irish Oaks weekend on 22 July.

Across Europe, a total of 11 Pattern races have been downgraded in 2023, with a further eight listed races losing that status.

Meanwhile, as previously announced earlier this year, Britain took the decision to voluntarily downgrade 11 black-type (three Pattern races and eight listed races) for 2023, as part of a wider–and ongoing–strategic review of the Pattern and listed programme. A total of 48 Pattern and listed races will be at risk of potential downgrade in 2024 depending on their performance this year.

The full list of changes made to the European programme are as follows:

France

• G2 Greffulhe downgraded to Group 3
• G2 Hocquart downgraded to Group 3

Germany

• G2 Badener Meile downgraded to Group 3
• G3 Von Lotto Hamburg downgraded to listed
• Listed Grosser Preis Von Meravis loses listed status
• Listed Grosser Preis der Sparkasse Hannover loses listed status
• Listed Sparkassenpreis loses listed status
• Listed Dusseldorfer Stutenpreis loses listed status

Ireland

• G2 Kilboy Estate downgraded to Group 3
• G3 Concorde downgraded to listed

Italy

• G2 Milano downgraded to Group 3
• G2 Federico Tesio downgraded to Group 3
• G3 Tudini downgraded to listed
• G3 Sergio Cumani downgraded to listed
• G3 Umbria downgraded to listed
• Listed Criterium Nazionale loses listed status
• Listed Gardone loses listed status
• Listed Bersaglio loses listed status
• Listed Unire loses listed status

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Besides upgrading and downgraded races, the EPC also appointed Jason Morris, the Director of Racing at Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) to replace outgoing EPC Chairman Brian Kavanagh, whose term ended on Jan. 31,2022. Morris will serve for a five-year term.

Kavanagh said, “It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of the EPC and to work with a group of dedicated and passionate individuals. The strength of the European Pattern is reflected annually in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and while its work is regulatory in nature, the Committee has overseen many positive initiatives in European racing, for example in relation to opportunities for top-class fillies and mares, the development of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, Qatar Prix de l'Arc weekend and QIPCO British Champions Day, the three-year-old sprint programme and opportunities for stayers.

“The authority of the Committee comes from the participation and buy-in of all of the major racing nations in Europe and is one of the best examples I know of international racing authorities working together towards a common objective.”

Kavanagh added, “The Committee has chosen wisely in selecting Jason Morris to take over the role as Chairman. He has great expertise in this area and a lifetime interest in the development of quality racing throughout Europe. I wish him and the entire Committee all the best in the future.”

Dominic Gardiner-Hill, Head of Handicapping for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), Garry O'Gorman and Eric Le Guen, Senior Handicappers in Ireland and France respectively, are the EPC European nominees to the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee.

The EPC is also undertaking a full review of the progress made on developing and enhancing the black-type programme for the staying horse at its next meeting, which is scheduled for the summer of 2022. In addition, the EPC also agreed to new measures to aid the emerging racing nations in the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation to have the chance to stage a listed race, providing the race in question meets an agreed set of criteria.

The following changes were made to the Irish Pattern and listed races:

• Listed Silken Glider S. upgraded to Group 3 status
• Listed Savel Beg upgraded to Group 3 status
• G3 Vintage Crop S. downgraded to listed status
• G3 Diamond S. downgraded to listed status
• New six-furlong listed race for filles (3yo/up)

Across Europe, other countries' races were downgraded as follows:

• Germany:
  • G2 Diana Trial downgraded to Group 3
  • G3 Silberne Pietsche downgraded to listed
• Italy:
  • Listed Citta di Napoli loses listed status
  • Listed Archidamia loses listed status
  • Listed Chiusura loses listed status
• Norway:
  • G3 Oslo Cup downgraded to listed
• Sweden:
  • Listed Stockholm Fillies' S. loses listed status
• Turkey:
  • G2 Topkapi Trophy downgraded to Group 3

There are also a total of 41 Pattern and listed races that are at risk of potential downgrades in 2023 depending on their performance in 2022. These races are broken down by country as follows: GB (1), France (10), Germany (12), Ireland (3), Italy (14), and Turkey (1).

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“The HRI Board accepted that there were many positive reasons for retaining 48-hour declarations on a permanent basis,” said Jason Morris, director of racing at Horse Racing Ireland. “Significant commercial, marketing and operational benefits have been identified including the promotion of our sport by media and the betting industry.

“48-hour declarations are considered essential by our media rights partners when it comes to maximising our income streams from international markets, thereby driving revenues for racecourses as well as increasing the exposure of our horses for export purposes. Their permanent retention had support from associations representing racecourses, owners, and stable staff, all of whom identified the positive benefits of being able to plan further ahead. The Jockeys Association and IHRB Senior Medical Officer are also strongly supportive from a health and welfare perspective as it gives more notice to jockeys of their required riding weights and doubles the time available for them to manage any required weight loss.

“While there has been an anticipated increase in non-runners, the overall effect has not been significant as our reserve system allows for replacements–the net percentage of non-runners has only increased by 0.10 runners per race from 2019 to 2021 against the background of average field sizes increasing overall from 11.5 to 12.3 runners per race over this period.

“We acknowledge the concerns of the trainers and owners associations around the timetable for making entries and we will explore with the IRTA and AIRO whether beneficial changes can be made to the current entry schedule.”

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The additional meetings will take place on Jan. 11 (afternoon), Jan. 20 (evening), Feb. 1 (afternoon) and Feb. 17 (afternoon).

Jason Morris, HRI director of racing, said, “We have had representations from the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, the Restricted Trainers Association and the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners, all of whom have expressed serious concern. We are therefore pleased to be able to provide these additional opportunities during January and February to augment the existing programme. We envisage scheduling four or five races at each of these new meetings to allow for potential divides of multiple races to create eight-race cards at the additional fixtures. This approach has worked well in the past.

“We are grateful to Dundalk Racecourse for agreeing to contribute towards the funding of these meetings, as is the case with any additional fixtures allocated to racecourses. The dates and times for these meetings have been reviewed with SIS to identify the most beneficial slots from a betting turnover perspective and we are grateful to them for supporting the scheduling of these additional meetings. We have also liaised closely with Racing TV to ensure that we are maximising broadcast coverage for these new fixtures.”

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