Tag Archive for: Premier Racedays

Premier Racedays to receive prize money boost in 2025

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Flat jockeys will be afforded an earlier post-season break and Premier Racing fixtures will be subject to an increase in minimum prize money in the 2025 fixture list.

The British Horseracing Authority is in the midst of a two-year trial into a raft of measures designed to improve the competitiveness and commercial success of the sport.

As the trial is ongoing, there were no dramatic changes to the programme, with volume of racing remaining largely static, though eight fixtures will not be held, as the racecourses have chosen to absorb those races into other existing cards.

The Premier Racedays approach is unchanged, except for the prize money criteria, which has risen by 10 per cent and means that Flat racedays will generally have to supply £275,000 in total prize money, with no race run for less than £22,000, and Jumps fixtures will have to offer £220,000 for the whole card, with no race run for less than £16,500.

The volume of Sunday racing has increased significantly since 2023 and in 2025 this will be strengthened again, but there is no movement in the earlier decision to discontinue a trial into Sunday evening racing.

The BHA have also set out to provide a more immediate post-season rest period for Flat jockeys, with the end of November break moved forward to kick in after the November Handicap at Doncaster earlier in the month.

That then creates an eight-day gap with no Flat racing, after which there will be three further days with rider restricted meetings to expand the break to 11 days for those who are not eligible to take part in such events.

The criteria for rider restricted races is that the jockeys involved must not have ridden more than 30 winners in British races during the previous year, and there will also be a five-day stretch of meetings for such riders in February to give more experienced jockeys a break and create opportunities for up-and-coming pilots.

Speaking on the 2025 fixture list, the BHA’s director of racing, Richard Wayman, said: “The 2025 fixture list continues the two-year trial started in January this year, designed to enhance the quality and competitiveness of our racing, increase customer engagement and improve the financial returns to those who own, train and run their horses here in Britain.

“We are just seven months into the trial, and it was at an even earlier stage when the principles of the fixture list were agreed. As such, there were no plans to fundamentally alter anything for 2025, given how short a period this has been in terms of accurately assessing the performance of the changes.

“The volume of fixtures and races remains largely consistent with last year, but the race programme will fluctuate as more agile planning allows us to better tailor supply to the needs of the horse population – ensuring sufficient opportunities for connections to run their horses.

“We have also published the fixture list much sooner this year, which will support earlier production of the Programme Book. We hope this will help field sizes in early 2025 by giving connections more time to plan their campaigns.

“Having increased the minimum prize money criteria for Premier Racedays, we did expect to see a contraction in the overall number, but while some meetings have returned to core status, others have met the new thresholds. Hopefully this extra prize money will be welcome news, as will the strengthened offering on a Sunday.

“The Commercial Committee did discuss whether the number of Premier Racedays should be restricted by other means. However, there was a strong consensus that the two-year trial should be allowed to play out before significant changes are introduced.

“We also wanted to take further steps to support the wellbeing of our busiest Flat jockeys. This includes moving the November Flat break to start immediately following the end of the turf season, so that jockeys and others can take a much-needed break before returning for the all-weather season.

“We are acutely aware of the impact of the demands that the fixture list places on the many involved in servicing it and know that more progress is necessary in this area in the future.”



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BHA says betting revenue falls in first quarter of 2024

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Despite making some progress with regards prize-money and the competitiveness of Premier fixtures, the British Horseracing Authority has reported a decline in overall betting turnover for the first three months of this year.

Wet weather has been blamed for disappointing results regarding jumps meetings, but key Flat cards have performed much better.

However, reflecting on overall figures, the BHA stated: “The impact of affordability checks and the challenging economic climate have contributed towards betting on racing having been in decline for some time and that trend has continued from January to March, when total betting turnover dropped by 5.9%.”

Attendance figures at racecourses up to the end of April were 6.4% lower than the same period in 2023, but it is not all doom and gloom.

“More positively, the betting companies report that the number of active bettors are up, in particular on Saturdays,” added the BHA.

“It is too early to be reaching any strong conclusions on betting numbers but, removing the effect of the Cheltenham Festival, Premier Racedays are outperforming betting on the rest of the fixture list; the decline at Premier Fixtures was 2.7%, compared with 5.2% across Core meetings.

“The introduction of Premier Raceday fixtures on Sundays has seen a particularly strong start, with betting turnover per race at these meetings 21.3% higher compared to equivalent fixtures in 2023.”

Total prize-money at Premier Fixtures increased by £3.2m, while competitiveness at Flat Premier meetings is running at a four-year high for average field size, percentage of races with eight or more runners and the percentage of races with odds-against favourites.

Upon publication of the 2024 fixture list, the BHA introduced a two-year trial of a number of initiatives designed to maximise opportunities around the biggest fixtures and increase the public’s engagement with horseracing.

Regarding the initial Q1 update, the governing body stated: “It is very important to stress that it is early days into the two-year trial to be reporting on numbers.

“Moreover, the period under review was beset by wet weather and a relatively high level of abandonments, including of some key meetings and races.

“It will be possible to form a more reliable view of how things are progressing once we get to the end of June and have data for the first half of the year.”



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BHA calls for Premier and Sunday evening fixtures to be given time

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Julie Harrington, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, says a judgement on the success of Premier Racedays and Sunday evening racing should not be made overnight.

The first of 170 Premier Racedays planned for 2024 was staged at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, while Wolverhampton created a slice of history when becoming the first track to race in the UK on Sunday night.

While both schemes have come in for criticism in some quarters, Harrington is keen to assess all of the relevant data relating to the six trial Sunday evening fixtures and the two-year pilot of Premier Racedays before making any snap decisions.

“Premier Racedays were introduced this year to showcase the best our sport can offer to new and existing fans as part of a broader strategy to grow British racing,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“And while this concept will see a gradual roll-out, with innovations and enhancements to the customer experience delivered throughout the year, it has been heartening to see the positive initial response to Premier racing from the public, racecourses and participants.

“There were high-quality runners at Plumpton on Sunday, with races taking place in front of healthy and engaged crowds. And of course, the year began with a big crowd at Cheltenham enjoying quality racing at our first Premier fixture.

“The 170 Premier Racedays planned for 2024 reflect a significant investment by the sport. These are fixtures proposed by the racecourses which meet strict criteria, including around prize-money and race quality. We should be encouraged that so many racecourses want to invest in and stage these Premier events.

“We will also see more promotional work and, we hope, an HBLB-funded national campaign to support the work already being done by GBR and the racecourses.

“Ultimately, the objective is to encourage more, better-quality horses to be bred, trained, owned and raced in Britain. The sport has agreed that putting on high-quality, valuable racing is the way to achieve this.

“We must accept that this will not happen overnight. But we have made a start on creating and developing an attractive product to secure a long-term future for the sport by encouraging greater engagement with it. Time and experience will help us determine the optimum number of Premier Racedays with regards to racecourses and the horse population.”

She added: “This is the start of a two-year pilot and so we should resist the temptation to make snap judgements on its success based on limited experience. Throughout the pilot we will learn what does and does not work, how we can best package and promote Premier Racedays and ultimately achieve growth that will benefit all levels of the sport.

“Alongside Premier Racedays we also started the trial of Sunday evening racing at Wolverhampton. This saw good prize-money on offer to healthy field sizes meaning competitive racing was taking place in a window we believe affords us an opportunity to grow engagement with the sport.

“Clearly there are a range of views regarding this pilot and we respect those opinions. For this reason, the financial performance of these fixtures will be far from the only measure of their viability; we will continue to seek the views of all those involved in servicing such meetings and this feedback will form a core part of the ultimate assessment of the pilot.”



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