The third season of the highly successful All-Weather Championships commences at Lingfield Park on Thursday, October 29 and will be better than ever.
Finals Day takes place as usual on Good Friday at the same Surrey venue, with the seven races worth a total of £1.1 million. Good Friday is on March 25, 2016.
The main changes this season are to encourage the participation of more Irish and French runners in the 2015/2016 All-Weather Championships.
For the first time, horses can qualify for one of the races on Finals Day by racing three times on an All-Weather surface in France and Ireland, as well as Britain. Of course, they need to be high enough rated to run in one of the seven Finals, each worth at least £150,000, or they can make sure of participation by winning a Fast-Track Qualifier, which grants free and guaranteed entry.
The other way to qualify for one of the Finals is to run three times during the Championship period, including twice on a designated All-Weather surface in Great Britain, Ireland or France and at least once on dirt at Meydan, Dubai.
The categories and the sponsors remain the same this season, 3-Y-O Sprint (Unibet), 3-Y-O Mile (32Red), Sprint (Unibet), Mile (Ladbrokes), Fillies & Mares (32Red), Marathon (32Red) and Middle Distance (Coral). There are four Fast-Track Qualifiers for each race category.
The number of Fast-Track Qualifiers outside Britain has increased by two, with four staged at Dundalk, Ireland as against two last season, and two again in France, one at Cagnes-Sur-Mer and the other at Deauville. The full list is below.
Martin Cruddace, Chief Executive Officer of Arena Racing Company, said today: The All-Weather Championships, especially the £1.1 million Finals Day at Lingfield Park on Good Friday, are now an established part of the British Racing Calendar.
While the All-Weather Championships were initially the idea of Arena Racing Company (ARC), everyone at ARC is enormously grateful to the support we have received from all in British Racing in helping ensure the All-Weather Championships have proved a success from the outset.
A particular thanks goes to the British Horseracing Authority and the horsemen for their practical support, the European Breeders Fund, which financially supports many races across the All-Weather Championships season, and Chelmsford City, Kempton Park, Dundalk, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Deauville racecourses.
We would like to show our gratitude to our four sponsors, Coral, Ladbrokes, 32Red and Unibet, who were at the forefront of supporting the All-Weather Championships.
Our media partner At The Races has provided exciting coverage from day one and we look forward again to Channel 4 broadcasting Finals Day in March live from Lingfield Park.
As we enter the third season of the All-Weather Championships, we welcome runners from abroad and have done more to encourage them.
The third All-Weather Championships will be about enjoying another winter of exciting racing, ahead of crowning seven new Champions on Good Friday.
£10,000 will go to each of the All-Weather Champions, based on the number of winners, at the end of All-Weather Championships season: Champion All-Weather Jockey, Champion All-Weather Trainer, Champion All-Weather Owner, Champion All-Weather Sire, Winning Most All-Weather Horse, Champion Tipster.
In addition to the awards above, the horse who wins the most prize money during the period will become the All-Weather Horse of the Year.
