Prize money at leading British horse racing venues including Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom "will reach a record" of almost £43M ($69.8M) next year, according to Keith Weir of REUTERS. The Jockey Club, which runs 15 race courses in Britain, said that it would "provide almost half of the total thanks to growth in its business operations." Jockey Club CEO Simon Bazalgette said, "Prize money is the lifeblood of British racing, providing a return for racehorse owners and supporting trainers, jockeys and stable staff. It is an important measure of the health of our sport" (REUTERS, 12/18). BLOOMBERG's Alex Duff reported prize money "will increase by a projected 3.6 percent." The organization, which was founded in 1750, said that it expects to add an extra £1.1M ($1.8M) to the prize fund. By increasing prize contributions, Managing Dir Paul Fisher said that the Jockey Club is "attracting bigger race fields than the industry average." The organizer said in a statement, "The average flat-racing field at the Jockey Club’s courses was 9.9 in '12, compared with 9.6 for the industry." Its average jump-racing field was 9.5, compared with 8.9 for the industry (BLOOMBERG, 12/18).
