GB: The Jockey Club has announced a new partnership with the Stronach Group's 1/ST, North America’s pre-eminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company.
This groundbreaking initiative will create links between historic races in the UK and high-profile turf contests at 1/ST courses in the US.
The ultimate aim is to build the international profile of all races in the partnership by increasing the number of runners travelling from the US to the UK, and vice versa.
The partnership will see the winners of two valuable contests in North America this spring gain automatic entries for two of the Jockey Club’s G1 summer highlights – the Coral-Eclipse and the July Cup.
In addition, the winners of the Coral-Eclipse and the July Cup, sponsored this year by My Pension Expert, will gain an automatic entry and a travel incentive for two G2 events at the new California Crown meeting at Santa Anita on September 28.
Full race schedule
Turf division
The winner of Santa Anita’s Charles Whittingham Stakes, a G2 over 1m2f worth $200,000 on May 4 will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on July 6.
The winner of the Coral-Eclipse will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the California Crown John Henry Turf, a $750,000 G2 event on Sept 28 at Santa Anita.
Turf sprint division
The winner of the Jim McKay Stakes, a $100,000Listed stakes at Pimlico on May 18, will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the G1 July Cup on July 13.
The winner of the July Cup Stakes (Group 1, £600,000) will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the California Crown Eddie D Turf Sprint – a $750,000 G2 on Sept 28 at Santa Anita.
Aidan Butler, president of 1/ST, said: “A special thank you to our friends at the Jockey Club on launching this innovative partnership. We look forward to welcoming in competitors to the inaugural California Crown at Santa Anita Park this autumn.
“This partnership with the Jockey Club is part of our wider global strategy for improving international interest and top-class participation in the world’s biggest races – as evidenced by a similar alliance we have with Royal Ascot, via our Royal Palm juvenile series at Gulfstream Park, which delivered Crimson Advocate, the winner of the prestigious Queen Mary Stakes, in its inaugural year."
Matt Woolston, Jockey Club assistant racing and international director, added: “We are delighted to announce this great new initiative today and I would like to thank everyone at 1/ST for helping to make it happen.
“By pairing two of the UK’s most famous and prestigious G1 contests in the summer with a quartet of valuable North American turf contests in the spring and autumn, we feel we have the perfect race schedule for transatlantic runners.
“In addition, British and other European trainers now have the chance of an incentivised trip to North America in the autumn for races at Santa Anita’s exciting new California Crown meeting. We feel we have highlighted a race schedule that incentivises runners to travel across the Atlantic.”
• Visit the Jockey Club website and the 1/ST website
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