Cesarewitch Receives Purse Boost

[Chief Stipe]

Fresh on the news that the Ebor H. receives a purse hike, the British stayers’ programme was further bolstered by the announcement that The Cesarewitch H., held over 2 1/4 miles in October at Newmarket Racecourse, will have its purse increased to £500,000 in 2018. In 2019, the Cesarewitch would be run for £750,000 and in 2020, it will reach £1 million, with these changes developed in a partnership between the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and a full range of industry stakeholders.

The racecourse also announced that prizemoney will increase by 10% in 2018, bringing the total up to £10.85 million, a gain of over £1 million from 2017, courtesy of valued sponsors and investment from The Jockey Club Racecourses. The QIPCO Guineas Festival on May 5-6 is worth a record £1.7 million, the Dubai Future Champions Festival in October grosses over £2 million in prizemoney and the average prizemoney per race across the 39-fixture programme is almost £40,000.

Other races to receive an increase in prizemoney are: the 2600-metre G3 Bahrain Trophy up 50% to £150,000, rising to £200,000 in 2020; the G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. and G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S. were both upped to £275,000 each, from £200,000; and the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. was increased to £125,000.

“We are delighted to announce that the total prize fund being competed for at Newmarket Racecourses during 2018 will be £10.85 million, a valuable 10% on 2017,” said Jockey Club Racecourses East Region Regional Director Amy Starkey. “We are maintaining our investment in prizemoney for all our top races, while making a significant commitment to the racing industry’s support for stayers, including doubling prize money this year for The Cesarewitch which will ultimately become a £1-million race by 2020. We have also embraced the BHA’s Race Incentive Fund (RIF) and Appearance Money Schemes (AMS) for the Class 4 and 5 races that we stage, and have effectively invested in prizemoney across all race classes.”

Added British Horseracing Authority Chief Executive Nick Rust, “The phased prizemoney boost to the Cesarewitch announced today creates a further sizable uplift in the value of the stayers’ programme and provides another significant incentive to keep staying horses in training here in Britain. As a sport we want to stage world class racing and a £1m Cesarewitch from 2020 will provide another boost to our increasingly strong and valuable programme for stayers.”

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