Ascot Racecourse has announced that total prize money available in 2023 will be a record £17 million across 25 racedays. The overall figure excludes the industry-owned QIPCO British Champions Day.
This represents an annual uplift of £1.33 million (8.5%) against 2022 figures.
Prize money for Royal Ascot 2023 will also be a record £9.52 million, up from £8.65 million (10%) in 2022.
All Group 1 races will be run for a minimum of £600,000 for the first time with increases to the King’s Stand Stakes, St James’s Palace Stakes, Gold Cup, Coronation Stakes and Commonwealth Cup (all £500,000 in 2022), while the Queen Anne Stakes will be worth £750,000 (£600,000 in 2022).
The Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes will be increased to £250,000 (£225,000 in 2022) while two Group 2 races for fillies and mares – the Duke of Cambridge Stakes and Ribblesdale Stakes – are raised to £225,000 (from £175,000 and £200,000).
Both the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes and Jersey Stakes also receive increases to £150,000 (from £100,000 and £110,000).
As in 2022, no race at Royal Ascot will be run for less than £100,000.
Outside Royal Ascot, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup meeting will be worth £640,000, a 15% increase, with all eight races run for £80,000 plus £25,000 in stable prizes once again awarded. The same stable prize bonus will also be in place on QIPCO King George Diamond Day.
Elsewhere, Ascot will host two high-value maidens with the Crocker Bulteel Maiden Stakes at the QIPCO King George Diamond Weekend worth £50,000 and a seven furlong maiden in September worth £45,000.
No race on the Flat will be worth less than £15,000 with all Class 3 handicaps run for a minimum £20,000. Over Jumps, no race will be run for less than £10,000, including National Hunt Flat Races.
The Grade 1 Clarence House Chase and Betfair Ascot Chase will increase to £175,000 (both from £150,000) while each Saturday meeting during the jumps season will feature a handicap worth at least £100,000.
Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse, said:
“We are delighted to have reached the £17 million prize money mark for the first time. It’s never been so important to focus on the top end of the British programme with competition for the best horses so intense internationally.
“Against a backdrop of reduced central funding, an increase of more than £1.1 million or almost 14% in Executive Contribution has been required to get to this figure. That represents a significant investment and whilst many of the headline increases are at Royal Ascot, there are also boosts to Class 2 and Class 3 Handicaps on the Flat driven by the welcome increase to Minimum Values in this area. We have focused again on raising the profile of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup which attracts international jockey talent from around the world and are delighted that each of the eight races will be worth £80,000.
“We are also pleased to improve returns for developmental races including two high value maidens on the Flat, while over Jumps our five Saturday meetings will all feature at least one £100,000 handicap.”
