Is Prize-Money In Britain Really That Bad?

It's a familiar lament: prize-money in Britain is terrible. But is it actually true?

The answer is different depending on where and at which level you are racing. At Class 5 and 6 level, where a significant portion of the horse population plies its trade, prize-money levels are poor and that is giving the rest of British racing an unfair reputation. 

But for those fortunate enough to race a top horse in Britain, the fact is that owners are better rewarded than those in Ireland or France. In 2024, 18 of the 24 most valuable Group 1 races in Europe have been or will be run in Britain. Drop to Group 2 level and there are 43 races worth at least £115,000 in Britain, compared to six in France and four in Ireland. In fact, 19 of the most valuable Group 2 races in those three countries are staged in Britain, headed by the £500,000 City of York Stakes, whose prize fund has been boosted with the aim of Group 1 promotion at heart.

For Group 3 races, there are 59 in Britain run at £70,000 or more, while just three Irish Group 3s reach that mark and none in France. The 23 most valuable Group 3 races in Europe are all in Britain including the £200,000 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket and Goodwood's £200,000 Gordon Stakes.

In the black-type programme, a further 99 Listed races are run at £50,000 or more in Britain this year, and again this compares favourably to its two nearest neighbours, with France hosting 28 at that level and Ireland three. Again, the most valuable Listed race in Europe is in Britain: the £150,000 Redcar Two Year Old Trophy.

With the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale just around the corner, this is a message that the company's marketing director, Jimmy George, is keen to share with potential buyers at the sales. Indeed, it is incumbent on all those involved in British racing to refresh the narrative. 

“Often the [Group prize-money] is competitive with America,” says George. “For example, the G3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes is worth £165,000, which is approximately $215,000, and there is not one Grade II or Grade III two-year-old race at the forthcoming Belmont/Aqueduct meeting worth more than $200,000.”

Indeed, the Acomb, run at York's Ebor meeting, is part of a four-day festival at which not a single race is run for less than £100,000. York racecourse has long been a leader in its field, and the advent of Premier Racing, which has not been met with unanimous approval, has meant that some courses have been forced into significantly improving purses at their Premier fixtures. What goes up also usually comes down, however, and plenty of 'Core fixtures' have offered reduced prize-money at the lower tiers of racing. 

George also points to the programme of maiden and novice races in Britain, which has been enhanced in the last two seasons by a series of 84 high-value development races backed by Juddmonte, Darley, Tattersalls and the British EBF.

“I think there are around 100 maiden or novice races in Britain worth £25,000 or more, and at least 85 of those are worth £30,000 or more, with the Convivial Maiden at York worth £100,000,” he adds. 

“We have had an average of 44 £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus winners each year since the scheme began eight years ago, so that's an extra £1 million-plus in two-year-old win prize-money in each of those years.

“Great British Bonus figures can be added as well, and as an example, the Victorious Racing filly Duty First won £49,320 when she won her maiden at Ayr last month, comprising the feeble £4,320 of prize-money, £20,000 GBB and £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus, and the Salhia Stud filly Bintjeddah won £50,400 for winning her maiden at Haydock last week – £5,400 prize-money, £20,000 GBB and £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus.”

George says that he would like to see these bonuses acknowledged alongside the official prize-money figures in a horse's career overview, similar to the way French premiums are shown on the France Galop website.

He continues, “Sadly, when you look up those horses, and obviously any other bonus winners, all you see is that they won £4,320 or £5,400, so the perceived wisdom that there is no prize-money in British racing is perpetuated. We do our best to highlight all Book 1 Bonus winners, and the GBB winners are all on their website, but there is precious little dialogue about this and no official, centralised way of this money being recognised in statistics. 

“It is also worth bearing in mind the winners of a JRA two-year-old maiden win ¥7,200,000, which is about £39,000. As an industry, we need to raise the level of awareness amongst ourselves as to the prize-money opportunities that are out there. The Tattersalls' perspective is that winning your maiden is almost the most important point in your prize-money journey. And if you get a big payday the day you win your first-ever race, that gives you a warm and tingly feeling going forward. Hence, we've committed so much money over the last eight years to the Book 1 Bonus scheme, and it's distributed £9 million in extra prize-money directly to owners in Britain and in Ireland as well.”

Of course, only a selection of the racing population emanates from Book 1, and the GBB scheme is only open to fillies bred in Britain or by British stallions, so there are restrictions in these extra funds available, but the high-value maidens are increasingly prevalent.

“There's more than two a week of these that trainers can target and there's plenty more in that £15,000 to £25,000 bracket,” says George. “So constantly beating ourselves up to the detriment of the overall industry makes it difficult to sell the sport to new owners or even retain others, and to my mind, runs the risk of them migrating to places like France where, again, the perceived wisdom is not always matched by the reality. One absolute fact is that Group and Listed races in this country are worth significantly more than they are anywhere else in Europe across the board.

“If you are lucky enough to have a good horse, Britain is the best place in Europe to have it by a country mile. That is not necessarily a narrative that is widely disseminated or trumpeted by, dare I say it, the vast majority of the racing media or even the people paid to promote British racing. And, therefore, a huge number of racing professionals get battered into thinking that they're clinging on without a life jacket to a sinking ship. It's time to sell the sport a little bit better.”

That is something that George has been doing from the perspective of Tattersalls for more than three decades. On Thursday, he made the surprise announcement of his imminent departure to the International Racing Bureau. That is not until January, however, and before then he is looking forward to welcoming the major players of the bloodstock world to Park Paddocks for the fortnight-long October Yearling Sale, which begins on Tuesday, October 8.

“We're very fortunate to have so many of the world's biggest and most committed racehorse owners and breeders focusing their operations and their attention on Britain, racing all or most of their best stock here, maybe breeding all or most of their best stock over here, but also focusing on Book 1 of the Tattersalls October yearlings to source the best stock that is available,” he says.

“And that, I think, is the key element of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. It is recognised throughout the world as being the single biggest collection of elite turf yearlings, probably to be found anywhere in the world, which reflects not only the quality of the stock that the breeders are sending to the sale, but also the quality of the stallions that we currently have in Britain, Ireland and France, even without Galileo now.”

George and his colleagues spend plenty of time in the air on their way to recruit potential buyers for the sale. 

“It's obviously a very important part of what we do at Tattersalls, spreading the word as far and wide as we possibly can every year,” he says. “The process begins very early in the year, the regular trips to North America, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, throughout the Gulf region. We like to think there are very few stones that remain unturned in the course of us scouring the globe to push the message out.

A total of 1,873 yearlings have been catalogued across the four books of the October Sale, which has been deliberately reduced in number by 273 this year to ease the pressure on both vendors and buyers. At the sale's end comes Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot on October 19 with prize-money totalling £4.5 million across six races, headed by the £1.3-million G1 Champion Stakes. 

“Almost by definition, there will be something for everyone and it's very important that we don't just attract the elite buyers, but those whose budgets are more suited to the latter part of the October yearling sale know that they can come here confident that they also have a chance of finding superior race horses,” says George. 

“It's a very busy fortnight and we have made a conscious effort this year to try and tighten it a little bit to make the two weeks more manageable, and particularly in week two, spanning Books 2, 3 and 4. I think everybody working that second week will hopefully benefit from that and notice the difference, that it won't be quite as attritional as sometimes it can feel.”

As George reflects on his time at Tattersalls, clearly one of the things of which he feels most proud is the launch of the Book 1 Bonus back in 2015. 

“They are putting a lot of prize-money directly into the hands of owners, significant prize-money, which we strongly believe makes a difference to these owners. We want people to win these bonuses because it keeps them engaged in the sport,” he says. “It makes a difference, particularly at the slightly lower sector of the October Book 1 market, that at 100,0000gns and below. Thirty-five per cent of the 383 Book 1 bonus winners that we've had to date since the scheme's inception have been purchased for a 100,0000gns or less.”

Over those years, around £9 million has been paid out in Book 1 Bonuses, while the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's GBB Scheme, funded by the Levy Board and with contributions from breeders and owners, has dished out around £16.5 million (£14 million from the Levy Board) since its inception in 2020.

George adds, “I'm sure with a bit of joined-up thinking and getting a few people around a table, we can make sure the Book 1 Bonus and GBB figures are reflected in prize-money statistics. It's amazing how much difference a few million pounds in prize-money carefully directed can make to the ownership experience.”