British Champions Day

British Champions Day is a one-day meeting held annually at Ascot in October. The meeting is a fairly recent addition to the Ascot fixture list, having been staged for the first time in 2011. Nevertheless, British Champions Day is the most valuable day in British racing, with £4.26 million in prize money on offer. The first five races on the six-race card are end-of-season championships across the various categories of the British Champion Series, namely Sprint, Mile, Middle Distance, Long Distance and Fillies & Mares. The sixth, and final, race of the day is the valuable Balmoral Handicap.

British Champions Long Distance Cup

Formerly run at Newmarket, as the Jockey Club Cup, the British Champions Long Distance Cup was transferred to Ascot in 2011 and upgraded to Group Two status in 2014. The race is run over 1 mile 7 furlongs and 209 yards, open to horses aged three years and upwards and offers £500,000 in prize money.

British Champions Sprint

Historically run as the Diamed Stakes, over the same course and distance, in September, the British Champions Sprint was switched to October in 2011 and upgraded to Group One status in 2015. The race is run over 6 furlongs, open to horses aged three years and upwards and offers £600,000 in prize money.

British Champions Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes

Formerly run at Ascot, as the Princess Royal Stakes, and at Newmarket, as the Pride Stakes, the British Champions Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes returned to Ascot under its new name in 2011 and was upgraded to Group One status in 2013. The race is run over 1 mile 4 furlongs, open to fillies and mares aged three years and upwards and offers £600,000 in prize money.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes

Historically run at Ascot in September, initially as the Knights’ Royal Stakes and subsequently under its current name, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes was upgraded to Group One status in 1987 and switched to October in 2011. The race is run over a straight mile – it is, in fact the final of the “Mile” category of the British Champion Series – open to horses aged three years and upwards and offers £1.1 million in prize money.

Champion Stakes

Formerly run at Newmarket, the Champion Stakes was awarded Group One status when the Pattern race system was introduced in 1971 and transferred to Ascot in 2011. The Champion Stakes now serves as the final of the “Middle Distance” category of the British Champion Series. The race is run over 1 mile 1 furlong and 212 yards, open to horses aged three years and upwards and offers £1.3 million in prize money.

Balmoral Handicap

The Balmoral Handicap is run over a straight mile, open to horses aged three years and upwards and offers £250,000 in prize money, making it the most valuable race of its kind in Europe. The race is often contested by horses that ran in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot.