Royal Ascot has confirmed prizemoney for its behind-closed-doors 2020 meeting, with a total pot of £3,680,000 to be handed out. All eight Group 1 races will be run for £250,000, and no race will be worth less than £35,000. All races will close at the six-day stage.
It was announced in December that this year's Royal meeting was to be worth £8,095,000-the richest ever-with no race to be worth less than £95,000 and the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and G1 Prince of Wales's S. set to be the meeting's first-ever £1-million races, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to those plans.
Guy Henderson, chief executive of Ascot Racecourse, said, “2020 was set to be a landmark year for Royal Ascot prize money. However, these unprecedented times have intervened. We have sought to respond by producing an enhanced programme of racing this year to maximise opportunities to participate and which in its own way will deliver an exciting and memorable Royal Meeting. Some 70% of our annual income comes from public admissions, including hospitality, and producing in excess of 3 1/2-million pounds in prize money in the current circumstances would not have been possible without the support and commitment of our wonderful Official Partners QIPCO and Longines, for which we are all deeply grateful and express our sincere thanks on behalf of everyone involved.”
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