ROYAL ASCOT PRIZE MONEY INCREASED TO £5.3 MILLION Feature Group One to be run as the fourth race each day
Press Release: Tuesday 25th February 2014
Ascot Racecourse today announces that prize money at the 2014 Royal Meeting will be £5,310,000, an increase of £310,000 on last year’s total of £5,000,000.
In tandem, the feature Group One race on Tuesday, the St James’s Palace Stakes, and thereafter the Group One highlight each day will be run as the fourth race on the card, whereas previously it has been staged as the third race.
Charles Barnett, Chief Executive at Ascot Racecourse, said:
“We have added £25,000 to all seven Group One races and the same to the Royal Hunt Cup, Buckingham Palace Stakes and Wokingham Handicap.
“In all, 16 of the 30 races have received prize money increases, including the Queen’s Vase which we obviously want to see back as a Group Three as soon as possible. The minimum value of any race at Royal Ascot remains £60,000.
“We felt that the time was right to move the traditional feature Group One race to later on the card, now that all six races are shown live on Channel 4.
“In the BBC era, when the programming changed from BBC1 to BBC2 after the third race, it made sense to run the best race earlier but that no longer applies and it seems sensible to give Channel 4 more time to build up to the big story of the day.
“We have retained three Group One races on Tuesday, opening with the Queen Anne, as we strongly feel that it is right for the meeting to start with a bang. If we can get the Coventry promoted to Group One, something we will continue to push for, it is likely at that point that one of the Group One races would move to Wednesday.
“Also, we wanted to establish a loose pattern, where possible, of running the big handicap each day as the fifth or sixth race on the card as evidence suggests that this is best for betting turnover.
“Early indications are that a vintage Royal Ascot is in store with the likes of Arc winner, Treve, and top Australian sprinter, Zoustar, already earmarked. There is plenty of talk of other international stars such as the USA’s No Nay Never running, and perhaps even the Gai Waterhouse-trained Fiorente could line up in the Gold Cup against The Queen’s double-seeking Estimate.”
Ends
For further information, please contact: Nick Smith, Head of Communications and International Racing, Ascot Racecourse [email protected] / 07771 791449 ROYAL ASCOT COMPARISON 2013/2014 Tuesday 18th June 2013 Tuesday 17th June 2014 The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) £350,000 The Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) £375,000
The King’s Stand Stakes (Group 1) £350,000 The Coventry Stakes (Group 2) £120,000
The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) £350,000 The King’s Stand Stakes (Group 1) £375,000
The Coventry Stakes (Group 2) £120,000 The St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) £375,000
The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) £60,000 The Ascot Stakes (Handicap) £60,000
The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) £60,000 The Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed) £60,000
Wednesday 19th June 2013 Wednesday 18th June 2014
The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) £75,000 The Jersey Stakes (Group 3) £75,000
The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) £125,000 The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) £100,000
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) £500,000 The Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) £135,000
The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) £150,000 The Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1) £525,000
The Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2) £100,000 The Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap) £175,000 The Sandringham Stakes (Listed) The Sandringham Stakes (Listed) (Handicap) £60,000 £70,000 (Handicap) Thursday 20th June 2013 Thursday 19th June 2014 The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) £80,000 The Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) £80,000
The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) £150,000 The Tercentenary Stakes (Group 3) £75,000
The Gold Cup (Group 1) £350,000 The Ribblesdale Stakes (Group 2) £160,000
The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) £120,000 The Gold Cup (Group 1) £375,000
The Tercentenary Stakes (Group 3) £75,000 The Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) £120,000
The King George V Stakes (Handicap) £75,000 The King George V Stakes (Handicap) £75,000 Friday 21st June 2013 Friday 20th June 2014 The Albany Stakes (Group 3) £70,000 The Albany Stakes (Group 3) £70,000
The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) £175,000 The Wolferton Rated Stakes (Listed) £70,000
The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) £350,000 The King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) £185,000
The Wolferton Rated Stakes (Listed) £60,000 The Coronation Stakes (Group 1) £375,000
The Queen’s Vase (Group 3) £75,000 The Queen’s Vase (Listed) £85,000
The Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) £75,000 The Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) £100,000 Saturday 22nd June 2013 Saturday 21st June 2014 The Chesham Stakes (Listed) £60,000 The Chesham Stakes (Listed) £60,000
The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) £200,000 The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) £75,000
The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) £500,000 The Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2) £200,000
The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) £150,000 The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) £525,000 The Duke of Edinburgh Stakes The Wokingham Stakes (Heritage £75,000 £175,000 (Handicap) Handicap) The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions) £60,000 The Queen Alexandra Stakes (Conditions) £60,000
TOTAL £5,000,000 TOTAL £5,310,000