The UK’s largest racing operator, the Arena Racing Company, has announced two bonus schemes that will boost the amount of money available to all-weather horses over the winter. The company will guarantee a win’s value and introduce a £1 million pot, which will reward consistency throughout the season.
All winners across Class 4, 5 and 6 flat races will earn a minimum first prize. This figure is set at £5,500 for Class 4, £5,000 for Class 5 and £4,000 for Class 6. These figures are guaranteed regardless of the horses’s age, the type of race and which surface the race is run on.
The new payment structure is in addition to a £1,000,000 bonus pot available throughout the new All-Weather Championships season to owners, trainers, jockeys and racing staff.
Arena Racing Company has introduced these new incentives in response to criticism from trainers and owners and makes racing at the lower levels more attractive. The number of horses entering these lower class races has dwindled in recent years, and the company hope to reverse this by increasing pay-outs.
The company also gave further details on a Horse of the Month award that will be in place at every all-weather race at an Arena Racing Company racecourse. All horses finishing in the top five will earn points, and the horse with the most points will be awarded a cash prize. Winnings of £20,000 will be paid to the winner. However, this figure increased to £40,000 in February, March, and April.
There will also be a Horse of the Year prize of £100,000, which will be paid to the horse with the most points overall once the season is over.
An additional £10,000 will be awarded to the stables connected to the Horse of the Month. In addition, the most successful jockeys at each of the four ARC all-weather racecourses will also benefit with a top prize of £7,000 paid out to the riders with the most wins.
The top apprentice jockey is also rewarded with a £3,000 at the end of the season.
Mark Spincer, Managing director of ARC, said: “The winner’s bonus for our Class 4, 5 and 6 races that will be in place from July 1 across all of our flat racecourses will give owners a minimum prize to aim at, alongside the general increases to our flat values at these classes for the rest of 2022.
“The £1,000,000 all-weather bonus is a new scheme for 2022, and one that we hope will bring some great competition to the winter all-weather season to reward the most consistent performers across our four all-weather racecourses.”
