Jockey Club Racecourses

Imagine a world in which British racing's problems have been solved. There is plenty of prize-money to go round, at least 12 runners in every race, attendance figures are up, the Cheltenham Festival has returned to three days and the Derby to a Wednesday.  Okay, let's not be completely fanciful. The four-day Festival is here to stay, as is the Saturday Derby, but if you spend an hour in a room with Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale, you may leave it feeling that some of the other items on...

The Jockey Club has pledged to extend its "commitment to openness" in sharing  figures relating to media rights payments to each of its 15 racecourses and other revenues. The news came on the back of an announcement of increased prize-money of £60.1 million across the 334 fixtures due to be staged by the Jockey Club in 2024. Of that, £31.8 million will come from Jockey Club funds, referred to as "executive contribution", representing a 66.5% increase across the last decade. In 2023, the Jockey Club's executive contribution was projected to...

Jockey Club Racecourses will distribute more than £58-million in prizemoney across its 15 racecourses in 2022, up £12-million from this year. The recorded purses will include the organisation's largest-ever budgeted executive contribution of £28.4-million. The average prizemoney per fixture will be a record £172,000. Jockey Club Racecourses will stage 338 fixtures in 2022. Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of The Jockey Club, said, "The pandemic has been an incredible challenge that we have had to meet head-on. We still cannot be certain about what 2022 will bring, but we have enough...

Paul Fisher has been named executive vice chairman of City Racing, an organization spearheaded by The Queen's grandson Peter Phillips that aims to stage horse races on iconic city streets on removable track surfaces. Fisher was chief executive of Jockey Club Racecourses when that organization became a founding shareholder in City Racing, and he served Jockey Club Racecourses for 19 years. He takes on his new role alongside his role as chief executive officer of GVS. "I was involved in the formation of City Racing during my time at The...

Former Cheltenham racecourse chairman Lord Vestey has died at the age of 79. Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, whose wife Celia, the sister of Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight, died last year, aged 71, had a long association with the sport. Sporting his familiar blue silks, his runners enjoyed success over jumps and on the Flat. Jamie Osborne, now a successful trainer, was in the irons when the Knight-trained Karshi (GB) (Persian Bold {Ire}) delivered one of Vestey's biggest wins. Owned and bred by Vestey himself, he won the 1997...

Jockey Club Racecourses had previously projected a loss of £75-million in 2020, but now says it expects losses to exceed initial estimates following the government's announcement on Tuesday that crowds will not be permitted at sporting venues for up to six months due to rising COVID-19 infection rates. JCR Group Chief Executive Nevin Truesdale said he is seeking further clarity from the government on how long such restrictions may be in place and what support they may offer in the meantime. "Organisations in the sport and events sector are facing...

The Jockey Club Racecourses will make an executive contribution of £3.7-million to the purses at its racecourses through the final four months of 2020. The purse boost will ensure that most class one to three races will be worth 80% of their pre-pandemic value, and none less than 75%. Purses have still been dealt a significant blow, however; total purses for the 112 fixtures from September to December at Jockey Club Racecourses will be £13.5-million, down from an originally projected £16.38-million. The Jockey Club Racecourses is expected to see its...