In light of the cancelled meetings on Friday 19 January and Saturday 20 January, the BHA has agreed to reschedule a number of races that have been lost.
The Clarence House Chase will be run at Cheltenham on their Premier Raceday on Saturday 27 January. The race will be run for a value of £105,000 and will re-open for entries, as per the policy agreed for 2024 which re-opens all early-closing races which are re-scheduled at a new venue. Entries will close at noon on Monday 22 January with the rest of the Cheltenham Card.
As a Grade 1, it has been deemed in the best interests of the sport to reschedule one of the key races of the season. This has been supported by the encouragement from the connections of possible runners about their likelihood of running and the prize money investment from the racecourse, BHA and the Horserace Levy Betting Board, who have made a total contribution of £45,000
The Grade 2 Mares Warfield Hurdle (from Ascot) and the Grade 2 Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle (from Haydock) will both now be staged at Doncaster next weekend. The Rossington will be run at their Premier Raceday on Saturday 27 January for £40,000, with the Mares Hurdle run on Sunday 28 January for £45,000. Again, both races will re-open for entries on Monday.
The Listed Alan Swinbank Mares Bumper is being rescheduled for the next Market Rasen fixture on Tuesday 6 February.
Tom Byrne, BHA Head of Racing and Betting, said: “We are grateful to Cheltenham, Doncaster and Market Rasen for agreeing to host these races and to the Levy Board for their funding support. We hope that retaining these opportunities is welcomed by fans of the sport as well as the connections of all the possible contenders..
“When rescheduling, there are often questions regarding the reduced prize money values the races are subsequently run for. Where a race is added to a pre-existing card at a different racecourse, there are usually significant challenges for that new venue, including the limited time to secure sponsorship support, changing ITV coverage and existing prize money commitments.
“Therefore, a combination of additional Levy Board and BHA prize money funds are utilised to support the Racecourse Executive contribution and entry fees to run these races at as high a value as possible. This is usually below the original value due to the limited nature of those additional central funds.
“The alternative would likely be to not reschedule these races at all and so where it is still considered in the overall best interests of customers and participants, we always look to do so.”
