British EBF maintain record £2m support for racing
The British EBF have released details of their 2025 race programme which sees £2million of contributions to horseracing’s prizemoney from 35 British stallion studs.
Headlining the Flat racing initiatives is the British EBF two-year-old Series, with a total prize fund of £2.3million and two finals, worth £100,000 each for fillies (Wednesday 24 September at Goodwood) and colts and geldings (Friday 10 October at York). Over 170 restricted Maiden and Novice races, worth up to £30,000 each, act as qualifiers across the season. Any EBF eligible horse who finishes in the top six of a qualifier, can enter one of the finals with no early closing restrictions and no staged entry fees.
This year, the British EBF has increased it’s support of High Value Development races. Contributing nearly £400,000 to the programme of races in association with the BHA, Darley, Juddmonte and Tattersalls. There are 88 races for two-year-olds and three-year-olds with minimum values of £40,000 for Open Maiden and Novice races and £30,000 for Restricted races. The collaboration seeks to provide owners and trainers with regular development opportunities and the ability to start making returns on training fees and the purchase price of a horse earlier in its career.
Since 2015, British EBF have supported the breeding and racing of Middle Distances horses through their £250,000 Future Stayers series. This will continue in 2025 with a series of 12 races run for no less than £20,000. The races are open to the progeny of sires and dams that ran over 10 furlongs or more.
A new initiative this year is the sponsorship of a series of 19 Junior Hurdle races for National Hunt bred horses with over £150,000 on offer across the 2024/ 2025 season. Junior National Hunt Hurdle races enhance the potential of young horses through earlier jumping education. Racing against their own age-group, the development of this programme aims to mirror the early education options available to National Hunt trainers in France and Ireland.