The All-Weather Championships return for season 13, starting at Newcastle tomorrow, October 21 and concluding on Good Friday, April 3 with the £1 million Finals Day at Newcastle and the All-Weather Vase at Lingfield Park.
There are several changes for the forthcoming season, with the Marathon final set to be renamed the Easter Plate. The two-mile contest will have a safety factor of 20 and a total prize fund of £175,000.
London-based betting and gaming company Midnite takes over as one of the title sponsors alongside existing partner BetMGM. Midnite will sponsor the Marathon, Middle Distance and Sprint categories, while BetMGM continues its backing of the Fillies & Mares, Mile and 3YO divisions.
The G3 Winter Derby and Listed Hever Sprint will return to Lingfield Park. Both races switched to Southwell in 2023 as part of a two-year trial, with this year’s Winter Derby victor Royal Champion going on to win the G2 York Stakes and finish third in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes.
Royal Champion was not the only top-level performer to emerge during last season’s All-Weather Championships. G1 Prix du Cadran victor Caballo De Mar, G1 Prix d’Ispahan runner-up Sardinian Warrior and G3 Atalanta Stakes scorer Lady Of Spain all won handicaps at Southwell last term, while Candelari won three times on the all-weather at Chantilly before taking the G1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier.
Other changes to the programme see the Listed Churchill Stakes and Listed Golden Rose Stakes moved from Newcastle to Southwell. Both races, won last year by The Foxes and Night Raider, will take place in late November.
The rules for the All-Weather Championships remain unchanged, with horses requiring a minimum of three runs on all-weather surfaces in Britain, Ireland, France and the US during the qualifying period to be eligible for Finals Day. One of these three qualifying runs will continue to be permitted to take place on dirt in either Dubai or Saudi Arabia.
There will be All-Weather Championships Trials Day fixtures at Newcastle on January 16 and Lingfield Park on February 27, each hosting six £45,000 open handicaps in the respective categories.
The winner of each AWC Trials Day race will be eligible for free entry to the corresponding Finals Day race at Newcastle, as well as a £15,000 bonus should they go on to also win on Good Friday. Any horse that wins at both AWC Trials Days in the same category and goes on to also win at Newcastle will be eligible for a total bonus of £35,000.
As in previous years, there will be cash prizes awarded to the jockey, trainer and owner who accumulates the most wins during the season:
AW Champion Jockey – £10,000
AW Champion Jockey runner-up – £5,000
AW Champion Apprentice – £4,000
AW Champion Apprentice runner-up – £1,000
AW Champion Owner – £10,000
AW Champion Trainer – £10,000
