Anger rises with Jockey Club after cuts to prize money on eve of Grand National

Lower attendance figures and rising costs have affected revenues for the racecourse group

Britain’s leading racecourse group, the Jockey Club, revealed last Sunday that it is cutting it’s contributions to prize money funds this year after declining attendance figures at last month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Dwindling attendances coupled with the impact of affordability checks have hit the Jockey Club’s revenues meaning they need to reduce their spending with the reduction in prize purses expected to total around £1.5m from May until the end of the year.

Jockey Club chief executive Nevin Truesdale said the cuts were due to the “very, very significant financial headwinds” it is facing.

The decision has been met with growing anger and frustration from the Thoroughbred Group – an umbrella organisation representing owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and stable staff – which said the costs its own members were facing would be negatively impacted by the prize money reductions.

Jack Connor, the Thoroughbred Group’s racing and analytics executive, said: “The Thoroughbred Group is obviously disappointed with the Jockey Club’s announcement on 2024 prize money.

“While the challenging trading environment is understood by our members, many of whom run businesses themselves, they will undoubtedly be frustrated to see prize money reduced at a time when they are facing their own cost pressures.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the industry to grow the sport and put it on a more prosperous trajectory.”

Declining attendances at the Cheltenham Festival were one of the reasons behind the funding cuts (Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

In addition, the National Trainers Federation (NTF) warned of the “extremely harmful” consequences of dwindling returns that could result from the Jockey Club’s withdrawal of funds.

“We’re extremely disappointed to see that the Jockey Club has reduced its prize money for 2024 from the initially planned levels,” said NTF chief executive Paul Johnson.

“While we fully understand the financial implications of the issues the Jockey Club has detailed, prize money is the lifeblood of the sport and reductions have direct implications for the sustainability of businesses within it.

“Given that a number of those businesses have already been put under pressure through their own increasing costs, the direct financial impacts of lower prize money and the indirect impact caused by reducing owner confidence in the returns that the sport provides will be extremely harmful.”

In January the Jockey Club announced that it would be making a record executive contribution of £31.8m to prize money in 2024, leading to an overall total of £60.1m. That contribution will now fall by close to £750,000 to £31.1m and, with reductions in levy funding as well as entry fees, overall prize money will drop to £58.6m.

The prize money reductions are not expected to affect this weekend’s Grand National where the prize pot is a huge £1m and the winner will take home £561,300.