Aidan Butler
ARC AND 1/ST TO OFFER GREATER INTERNATIONAL RACING OPPORTUNITIES
Arena Racing Company (“ARC”), Britain’s largest racing group, and 1/ST, North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company, today announce a new partnership to open new opportunities across some of their feature races.
The winners of a selection of prestigious races at Doncaster Racecourse, home of the Betfred St Leger Stakes, the World’s Oldest Classic, will be offered free entry to races across 1/ST’s portfolio of elite tracks in the United States, including for the inaugural California Crown race day at Santa Anita Park on 28 September, and on the prestigious Pegasus World Cup program held at Gulfstream Park on 25 January 2025.
At the upcoming Betfred St Leger Festival, the winner of the Group 2 Betfred May Hill Stakes will receive an invitation, with no fees attached, to the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (GII), run over 1m 1/16f at Gulfstream Park in January 2025. Equally, the winner of the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes will receive free entry to the $750,000 California Crown Eddie D. Turf Sprint (GII), run over 6½ furlongs at Santa Anita Park at the end of September.
For the first time, Season 12 of the All-Weather Championships will open Finals Day qualification to any horse running three times over the season on an artificial surface in the USA, in addition to runs in the UK, Ireland or France.
As such, the winner of the Carousel Club Handicap at Gulfstream Park on 25 January will receive free entry to the All-Weather Championships Mile Final at Newcastle Racecourse on Good Friday, with two other qualifying runs. Season 12 of the All-Weather Championships begins in October 2024 across the six all-weather racecourses in Britain culminating with £1,000,000 Finals Day at Newcastle on Good Friday, 18 April 2025.
In addition to the free entry to each of these races, ARC and 1/ST will support the connections of any qualifying horse with a subsidy towards their travel.
This agreement follows on from the recent announcement of a new strategic alliance between ARC, 1/ST, Tabcorp and Racecourse Media Group to create a network of rights holders that will distribute content across multiple international markets.
Director of Media and International at ARC, Brendan Parnell, said: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with 1/ST to offer the winners of two of the most high-profile races during the Betfred St Leger Festival the opportunity to take up some exciting opportunities in the USA.
“Likewise, in extending the qualification criteria for the All-Weather Championships, and the link with Gulfstream Park, we hope that we might look to add some further international interest in the £1,000,000 Good Friday fixture, alongside the long standing Irish and French participation.”
Aidan Butler, President of 1/ST, said: “We’re thrilled to expand our existing partnership with ARC. Working with Doncaster and its revered St Leger Festival is truly a privilege, while we’re also looking forward to sending over a horse for the All-Weather Championships next Spring at Newcastle. Collectively, we’re playing our part to bring US and UK racing closer together across elite races on all surfaces.
“By coupling timeless tradition to forward-thinking innovation, via newly-conceived concepts like the California Crown at Santa Anita Park on 28 September (California’s richest day of racing outside the Breeders’ Cup), we will only build on this association and progressive program in the years ahead. At 1/ST, our goal is always the betterment of top-class international fields, a cornerstone project in growing and sustaining the sport we love on both sides of the pond.”
1/ST
1/ST Announces $25 Million on the Line with Introduction of New Racing Series Linking Preakness 149, The California Crown and 2025 Pegasus World Cup
149th Preakness Stakes Purse Increases to $2 Million to Kick Off Series
$5 Million Challenge Coast-To-Coast Pick’ Em Challenge Sweepstakes Connects 1/ST Premier Events
1/ST, the innovative brand behind North America’s most prestigious thoroughbred horse racing, entertainment and wagering events, has announced a $25 million dollar racing and incentive series connecting Preakness 149, The California Crown and the 2025 Pegasus World Cup.
Kicking off at Preakness 149, 1/ST’s three premier race days will feature more than $12.5 million in elevated purses and $7.5 million in incentives for both dirt and turf participants. 1/ST is offering a $5 million bonus in addition to the respective purses to the owner(s) of the horse who wins the 149th Preakness Stakes (GI), The California Crown (GI) and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (GI). For turf stars, 1/ST will award a $2.5 million bonus, added to the elevated purses, to the connections who win the Dinner Party Stakes (GIII), The California Crown John Henry Turf (GII) and the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (GI).
Preakness 149 celebrations, taking place on May 18 at Pimlico Race Course, will mark the inaugural races in this new series. The 149th Preakness Stakes purse will increase to $2 million and the Dinner Party Stakes will increase to $500,000, making Preakness 149 race day the most lucrative in the event’s history with a total of $3.3 million on the line. The decision to elevate the purses for the 149th Preakness Stakes and for the Dinner Party Stakes reflects 1/ST’s ongoing commitment to maintaining and growing the thoroughbred horse racing industry to usher in a new era for racing in Maryland.
On September 28, The California Crown will debut at Santa Anita Park for a reimagined opening day experience for the track’s 2024 fall meet. The California Crown will replace the Awesome Again Stakes for three-year-olds and up and will be run on 1 1/8 mile offering a $1 million-dollar purse. The $750,000 California Crown John Henry Turf along with the $750,000 California Crown Eddie D Turf Sprint (GII), taking place on Santa Anita Park’s famed downhill turf course featuring American racing’s only right-hand turn, will add to the excitement of what will be California’s richest day of racing.
Since 2017, the Pegasus World Cup has become the premier luxury event in the sport and has set the standard for the modern thoroughbred horse racing experience. The 2025 Pegasus World Cup, to be held on January 25 at 1/ST’s Gulfstream Park, will feature the coveted $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. The live broadcast of the Pegasus World Cup – horse racing’s hottest party – will feature the presentation of the potential $7.5 million in bonuses for any owner(s) who manage to achieve this remarkable feat.
In its continued effort to engage the next generation and provide game-changing opportunities for existing customers, 1/ST is putting up $5 million for a Coast-To-Coast Pick’ Em Challenge sweepstakes to successfully pick the first four finishers of each race, in order, for the 149th Preakness Stakes, The California Crown and the 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The challenge is free to enter through the innovative 1/ST Bet app. If there is no perfect winning entry, the entry with the most overall correct selections will win a $100,000 cash prize.
“My team and I continue to believe and invest in the modernization of thoroughbred horse racing with a commitment to the highest level of international safety standards and horse care as we continue to elevate our already industry-leading wagering, entertainment and hospitality programs,” the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer for 1/ST, Belinda Stronach, said. “To back this up, 1/ST is adding to the legacy of the Preakness by increasing the purse, creating a new marquee race event for the majestic Santa Anita Park – The California Crown – and continuing to build on the phenomenal success of the Pegasus World Cup. We’re proud to work with incredible partners who share our vision and see the future of world-class thoroughbred racing combined with unique and elevated guest experiences.”
“The $25 million in racing purses and bonus incentives available for Preakness 149, The California Crown and the Pegasus World Cup including a $5 million sweepstakes for bettors and fans shows our commitment to innovation and excellence in thoroughbred racing,” the President for 1/ST, Aidan Butler, said. “Providing lucrative opportunities for owners and bettors while also delivering exceptional entertainment experiences is our speciality.”
1/ST’s industry-leading horse care and safety protocols including increased veterinary oversight will be strictly enforced throughout the new racing series under the leadership of Dr Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer for 1/ST Racing.
For more information and to purchase tickets to Preakness 149, visit www .Preakness. com or @ PreaknessStakes on social.
To stay connected on The California Crown, visit @ CaliforniaCrownOfficial on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube and @ TheCaliCrown on Snapchat. Tickets for California Crown go on sale in the spring 2024.
For more information on the Pegasus World Cup, visit www .PegasusWorldCup. com or follow on social @ PegasusWorldCup.
Crimson Advocate prevailed by a nose in an exciting photo finish to win Wednesday’s Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Great Britain’s Ascot Racecourse, making Gulfstream Park’s Road to Ascot qualifying event for the Royal Ascot meeting an instant success in its very first season.
The George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate, who set the pace following a quick start and held on gamely to defeat favored Relief’s Rally in the prestigious five-furlong turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies, had previously scored a front-running 3 ½-length triumph in the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies May 13 at Gulfstream.
The Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, a five-furlong turf dash for 2-year-old fillies, and the $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile, a five-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds won by Weaver-trained No Nay Mets, provided each winner an automatic berth in one of six juvenile races during the June 20-24 Royal Ascot meeting. No Nay Mets, who also scored by 3 ½ lengths in his race at Gulfstream, is scheduled to start in Thursday’s Norfolk Stakes (G2) after being sold for more than $1 million at Monday’s Goff’s London sale.
“1/ST Racing and Gulfstream Park want to congratulate the connections of Crimson Advocate for their thrilling victory in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer/1/ST Racing & Gaming. “What a joy and how extremely satisfying that our first-of-its-kind partnership with Ascot Racecourse has produced a winner at Royal Ascot in its inaugural season.”
Crimson Advocate, who is owned by R.A. Hill Stable, Swinbank Stables, Black Type Thoroughbreds, RAP Racing, Chris Mara, BlackRidge Stables Inc., and Amy E. Dunne, is a daughter to champion Nyquist, who captured the 2016 Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream on his way to winning the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Having high hopes for his 2023 class of 2-year-olds, last spring’s announcement of the Royal Palm Juvenile series drew the immediate attention of Weaver, whose stable campaigns at Gulfstream during the Championship Meet and into the Royal Palm Meet.
“We happened to stay down there with horses, so it was a plan that was easy to execute for us,” said Weaver “I’m very grateful to Gulfstream for putting it on. It’s a great thing going forward.”
“Gulfstream’s partnership with Ascot Racecourse has just begun. Our hope is to build on this extraordinary partnership with Ascot Racecourse and to continue expanding the spectacle and culture of horse racing with all our partners globally,” Butler added.
As a result of an innovative partnership between world-renowned Ascot Racecourse’s Royal Meeting and 1/ST RACING, winners of the May 13 $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes and $100,000 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Gulfstream Park will each earn an automatic entry into one of Royal Ascot’s six 2-year-old races in addition to a $25,000 equine travel stipend.
Gulfstream Park’s Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes races run five furlongs on the turf will be the first-ever US automatic qualifiers for a race at Royal Ascot.
“1/ST RACING is thrilled to announce this new global partnership with Ascot Racecourse. Gulfstream Park is honored to host two automatic qualifiers to challenge the world’s best at this year’s Royal Ascot Meeting,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST RACING & GAMING.
The 2023 Royal Ascot meet that boasts 300 years of history will run from June 20-24.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with 1/ST RACING on this initiative and building on the already solid foundations of success that American juveniles have at Royal Ascot. Hopefully the incentives will attract a quality field and we look forward to welcoming their connections at Ascot,” said Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs, Ascot Racecourse.
The six juvenile races during the June Royal Ascot meet are:
- June 20
o The Coventry (G2), 6 furlongs
- June 21
o The Queen Mary (G2), 5 furlongs, fillies
o The Windsor Castle, 5 furlongs, listed.
- June 22
o The Norfolk (G2), five furlongs
- June 23
o The Albany (G3), 6 furlongs, fillies
- June 24
o The Chesham Stakes, listed.
Nominations for the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies will close April 30.
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