Jockey Club Plans Record Contribution
Jockey Club Racecourses has announced it plans to contribute a record £19.9 million to prize money in 2015 from its own resources, with total prize money across its 15 courses nationwide scheduled to exceed £43 million this year.
The latest figures will result in record average prize money per fixture of around £127,000 in 2015, despite staging 24 fewer programmed fixtures than in 2014.
In 2014, JCR made its largest-ever contribution to prize money to date of £19.13 million after abandonments, up from £18.24 million in 2013. Average prize money per fixture across the group was projected to be £118,000 in 2014, but instead exceeded £120,000.
The group’s 2015 plans mean by the end of the year its prize money contribution will have increased by £7.5 million, around 60%, since 2009.
Paul Fisher, group managing director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We continue to prioritise prize money because it’s the lifeblood of our sport and I hope this move will be well received by horsemen who can support us in return through entries.
“The Jockey Club is once again doing our maximum; now the sport as a whole needs to see progress in replacing its broken funding model. We stage fantastic racing in Britain and yet we’re the poor relation of other jurisdictions when it comes to funding, which needs improvement at all levels of racing’s pyramid.
“That’s why we welcome the Government’s consultation to replace the Horserace Betting Levy with a system where racing and the betting industry find more mutual benefit in creating value together and a level playing field for all types of betting operator. Long-term we all stand to benefit from a better funded sport.”
JCR’s prize money contribution is in addition to its investments of more than £190 million into facilities in the last decade – which have included enhancing the experience for racegoers and horsemen, as well as investment in owners and trainers facilities and racing surfaces.
