Coronavirus hits Ascot Racecourse Champions Day prize money

Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy steers home Shamardal, right, to win the St James' Palace Stakes at the Royal Ascot on Tuesday June 14, 2005. Photo: AP Photo/Paul Ellis

Australian jockey Kerrin McEvoy steers home Shamardal, right, to win the St James' Palace Stakes at the Royal Ascot on Tuesday June 14, 2005. Photo: AP Photo/Paul Ellis

Published Aug 6, 2020

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ASCOT – The total prize money for this year's season-ending British Champions Day at Ascot race course has been cut by about 40%, to £2.5 million ($3.28 million), due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Britain's richest race-day, which will be held on Oct. 17, paid out a total of £4.2 million in prize money last year.

This year's Champion Stakes, the biggest race of the day, will be run for £750,000, down from more than £1.3 million last year.

"We are pleased to be able to stage a card worth £2.5 million... despite our income streams being so negatively affected and the enormous challenges facing the sport currently," chief executive Rod Street said in a statement.

The prize purses for all the races on the supporting card have also fallen, although the event has managed to retain its position as the richest race-day in the UK.

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The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes will be run for £650,000, down from £1.1 million last year, while the prize money for the Fillies and Mares Stakes and Champions Sprint Stakes has shrunk 36%, to £350,000, this year.

The Long Distance Cup and Balmoral will be run for £300,000 and £100,000, down from £450,000 and £250,000, respectively, last year.

Horse racing returned to Britain on June 1 without spectators after being suspended in mid-March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

It was not immediately clear if some fans would be allowed to attend this year's event.

Reuters

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