- King Of Change to run in QEII or Champion Stakes?
By Andrew Atkinson
Prizemoney for the 2020 Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot in October has been cut by £1.7 million amid COVID-19 tight purse strings.
British Champions Day on October 17, will see prizemoney of £2.5m, down 40% from the 2019 purse of £4.2m.
“We are pleased to be able to stage a card worth £2.5m on Qipco British Champions Day – despite our income streams being so negatively affected and the enormous challenges facing the sport,” said Rod Street, chief executive of British Champions Series.
The Champion Stakes will have a purse of £750,000, the most valuable race in Britain in 2020, cut from £1.3m in 2019.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes has prizemoney of £650,000, cut from £1.1m; the purse for the Balmoral Handicap has been cut to £100,000 from £250,000 in 2019.
The Champions Sprint and the Fillies & Mares Stakes are cut to £350,000 – from £550,000 – and the Long Distance Cup £300,000, from £450,000.
2020 is the tenth year of British Champions Day – Britain’s richest raceday – despite the cuts amid the turfs COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the sports sponsorship money.
September 1 sees the six races on British Champions Day close for entries. King Of Change, trained by Richard Hannon jnr, winner of the 2019 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is set to run: “King Of Change is fine and we’re looking at getting him going in October.
“Champions Day is on the cards – in either the QEII or Champion Stakes – but we might have to wait a bit longer and perhaps go abroad for a campaign in the autumn,” said Hannon.
Prizemoney for this year’s Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot:
Qipco Champion Stakes £750,000.
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes £650,000.
Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes £350,000.
Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes £350,000.
Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup £300,000.
Balmoral Handicap £100,000.
