Significant Reduction in Premier Racedays as BHA Publishes 2026 Fixture List

[Wandering Eyes]

Premier Racedays will be cut by more than two-thirds in 2026, with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) conceding that dilution of the original concept had lessened its anticipated impact.

The idea was initially introduced in 2024 as a two-year pilot, with 170 fixtures designated as Premier Racedays which met certain criteria around prize-money and quality and were intended to showcase the very best of the calendar.

A total of 162 Premier Racedays were scheduled for 2025, but next year will see just 52, focused on British racing's showpiece occasions. The protected two-hour window that was employed during the trial period, which limited action at other tracks, will be discontinued, in favour of gaps of at least 10 minutes around the major races on Saturday afternoons.

Richard Wayman, the BHA's director of operations, said, “We wanted to make our best racing better and use that as our tool to grow interest in the sport. Part of that was making the racing as good as we could, so we invested in the racing and we have seen a real upside on that.

“Prize-money on Premier Racedays in 2024 was over £7 million higher than it had been the previous year at those same fixtures, with another half a million this year, so in terms of actually supporting the quality and competitiveness of racing, making the sport at those meetings better, I think the policy has delivered.”

He added, “Where clearly it has not done what we talked about two years ago was from a customer perspective, creating that brand around Premier Racedays that I think for a number of reasons didn't work.

“I think one of the biggest reasons was that there were simply too many of them and it therefore diluted the message that these are genuinely elite fixtures – consumers just didn't buy that. I think moving to the 52 from 162 is a step in the right direction.”

In a media briefing, Wayman confirmed that there are no plans for a marketing campaign for Premier Racedays in 2026, describing it as “a bridge” between the trial and the 2027 fixture list, which will be informed by evidence from ongoing consumer research.

A total of 1,458 meetings (down from 1,460 in 2025) have been scheduled for next year, with the BHA employing measures that aim to increase the number of horses based and being raced in Britain, as well as enhancing the quality of those runners, supported by an additional £4.4 million in prize-money.

The G1 July Cup, G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, G1 Sussex Stakes and G1 Juddmonte International will all get at least a £200,000 boost in 2026, while funds for developmental races will be increased, imposing minimum values for novice or maiden races on the Flat, plus added incentives for staying races.

Novice and beginners' chases and maiden and novice hurdles will also have a baseline prize fund, while a bonus series for point-to-point horses is set to be introduced, with the aim of strengthening the supply of quality horses from that division to race under Rules.

While the BHA continues its drive to improve competitiveness and reinforce Sunday racing, it has also made moves to try to mitigate the demands on those working in the industry, with a six-day pause (April 26 – May 1) and a 19-day break (July 27 – August 4) in National Hunt racing.

The Flat action will stop on November 8-15, with rider-restricted meetings scheduled for November 16-18 and for five days in mid-winter (February 16-20). Other initiatives include a trial of 8pm finishes for all-weather meetings in the first nine weeks of the year.

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