A new bonus scheme, designed to offer incentives to non-European runners, has been launched for the 2025 flat season, centring around the key race meetings of the summer.
The new scheme is there to attract runners that are different to the norm, in a bid to make our top races more exciting and intriguing for fans to enjoy. Alongside this, should these runners come, then they are sure to make the world betting pools far more interesting to punters from their homelands and boost racing revenue that way, too.
Three races are part of the bonus scheme, and either trainers or owners are eligible, and they don’t have to be with the same horse.
Ascot, Goodwood and York Feature in New Bonus Scheme
The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood are the two main races in this bonus. Should the same trainer or owner win both, they will receive a bonus of £1 million. If they manage to get a placed horse in both races, the bonus will be £250,000.
There are just four days between these two races, which makes it ideal for runners to come across together and spend time in the UK during both meetings before going home together, so there should only be one set of transport costs for both races.
There is a further bonus on offer which is based around the Juddmonte International at York, which comes in the following month.
Should the winner of either the King George or Sussex Stakes come back for the Juddmonte International, then they would receive a bonus of £250,000 for lining up. Should a placed horse come back for the Juddmonte International, they would be eligible for a bonus of £150,000.
If a horse runs and fails to place in either of the first two races but still runs in the Juddmonte International, they will receive a £50,000 bonus.
Non-European Runners Always Add a Buzz
I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but I’m thrilled to see this in action and hope plenty of overseas trainers take advantage. The addition of runners from Japan, Australia or the USA always seems to bring an extra buzz around a certain event.
Imagine if we had three of four runners coming over for the first two races, then they all met in the Juddmonte International to get the further bonus. Throw them together with the best that the UK has to offer, as well as the potential for a French runner, and all of a sudden, you’d have one of the most intriguing races of the season.
It’s a lot of money, and it’s money that some would argue could be spent better if pumped into the lower levels of racing, but in terms of an idea, I like it.
The powers that be within racing are trying to attract different runners to these shores, trying to give us the very best of the best against each other, and thinking outside of the box.
I like it, and there are not too many times you can say that about British racing. So let’s enjoy it. I hope that in the summer, we see plenty of non-European entries and a real buzz around these races.