Jockey Club Racecourses is scheduled to stage 341 racing fixtures in 2017, according to next year’s British Racing Fixture List published today. This represents nearly a quarter of all fixtures run in Britain and is made up of 182 Flat fixtures, 158 Jumps fixtures and one mixed card.
 
The UK’s leading racecourse group, which stages four of the five Classics, the Randox Health Grand National and the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup within its nationwide portfolio of racecourse venues, secured 50 fixtures through the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) fixture allocation process and will run one additional fixture year-on-year in 2017.
 
In the last decade alone, The Jockey Club has put more than £415 million back into Britain’s second-biggest spectator sport through its industry-leading contributions to prize money and improving facilities for customers and participants, including its racing surfaces. In 2016, the Group is on course for contributing the largest sum to prize money of any racecourse group in the history of the sport; £20.9 million, subject to abandonments in the remainder of the year as normal.
 
Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director of Jockey Club Racecourses, said:
 
“We are pleased to be the home for nearly a quarter of British Racing’s fixtures next year.
 
“This year’s fixture allocation process saw us seek and secure the same number of Turf fixtures at each of our courses as in 2016, which we feel is close to their optimal level given the type and timings of fixtures available. Considering an additional entrant was applying for a full year of all-weather fixtures we are also pleased not just to maintain our position at Kempton Park but to gain an additional fixture there.
 
“With half of all prize money funding coming from racecourses’ investment, it is vital we have the opportunity to run commercially-viable racedays so that funding the sport to this level is affordable. That is more important now than ever given the current uncertainty around next year’s Levy funding. As ever every penny we make from our fixtures we will reinvest back into British Racing.”
 
Three-week gap between The Festival at Cheltenham and the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree
As in 2016, next year will see a three-week gap between The Festival and the Randox Health Grand National. The Festival will be staged at Cheltenham from to Tuesday 14th to Friday 17th March 2017 and the Randox Health Grand National Festival will be staged at Aintree from Thursday 6th April to Saturday 8th April 2017.
 
Cheltenham Hunter Chase Evening
The popular Hunter Chase Evening at Cheltenham, staged previously on a Wednesday, will move to a Friday evening from next year. It will be held on Friday 5th May in 2017.
 
Betfair Chase Day
Betfair Chase Day will take place on Saturday 25th November in 2017 without the Friday card that preceded it over the last few years to help to preserve ground for Haydock Park’s richest fixture of the year. The fixture previously run on Friday will move to Wednesday 6th December 2017 at Haydock Park.