Tag: ebor handicap

Which are the most valuable races in Britain?

The most valuable horse races in Britain naturally include some of the most prestigious, and most coveted, contests on the horse racing calendar. Traditionally the fourth Classic of the season, the Derby Stakes, or Derby, for short, run over a mile-and-a-half at Epsom, is currently the most valuable horse race run in Britain. The 2024 Derby, held on Saturday 1st June will be the 245th time the race has been held, with with a total prize money of £1,500,000 accorting to the Jockey Club.The prize fund breakdown for the winner and other places last year was as follows:

 

1st – £885,781.84

2nd – £335,819.24

3rd – £168,065.82

4th – £83,720.52

5th – £42,016.46

6th – £21,086.33

 

Elsewhere on the Flat, the Ebor Handicap, run over a mile-and-three-quarters at York, received a massive boost in prize money when Sky Bet took over sponsorship of the race in 2018 with a total prize fund going from £500,000 to £1 million; making it the most valuable race of its kind, not only in Britain, but in the whole of Europe. However, post covid the race is less valuable once more back at £500,000 accoridng to the York racecourse website (as is the prize money offered for the Sky Bet City of York Stakes held on the same day).

In 2020, two Group One races at Royal Ascot, namely the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, run over a mile-and-a-quarter, and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, run over six furlongs, were due for an increase in prize money, to £1 million from £750,000 and £600,000, respectively. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, prize money at the Royal Meeting was amended, such that all eight Group One races were run for £250,000. The prize money for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Diamond Jubilee Stakes are now back up to £1,000,000 though with £567,100 going to the winner, so that will be the 2024 purse on offer.

Generally speaking, National Hunt racing is less lucrative than Flat racing, in terms of the prize money on offer. Nevertheless, while not quite on a par with the Derby, the Grand National, run over four miles and two-and-a-half furlongs at Aintree, offers total prize money of £1 million, making it the most valuable steeplechase run in Europe, in 2024 £561,000 went to the winner, I am Maximus.

Which is the most valuable flat handicap in Europe?

The most valuable flat handicap in Europe is the Ebor Handicap, run over approximately 1 mile and 6 furlongs, or 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards, to be precise, at York Racecourse during the so-called ‘Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival’ in August each year. Inaugurated, as the Great Ebor Handicap, in 1843, the race takes it name from Eboracum, a Roman fortress town that ultimately evolved into the modern-day city of York.

The Ebor Handicap was first sponsored by the Tote in 1976 and sponsorship passed to bookmakers Betfred following their purchase of the Tote, for a report £265 million, in 2011. By that stage, the Ebor Handicap was already the most valuable flat handicap in Europe with total prize money of £210,000 and by 2017 that figure had increased to £285,000.

In 2018, Sky Bet, the sports betting division of Sky Betting & Gaming, was unveiled as the new sponsor of the Ebor Handicap. As part of a five-year sponsorship deal with York Racecourse, Sky Bet increased the total prize money for the Ebor Handicap to £500,000 in 2018 and, again, to £1,000,000 in 2019. In 2019, the race conditions were changed to exclude three-year-olds, so the Ebor Handicap is now contested by horses aged four years and upwards.