Arena Racing Company (“ARC”), Britain’s largest racing group, and 1/ST, North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company, today announce a new partnership to open new opportunities across some of their feature races.
The winners of a selection of prestigious races at Doncaster Racecourse, home of the Betfred St Leger Stakes, the World’s Oldest Classic, will be offered free entry to races across 1/ST’s portfolio of elite tracks in the United States, including for the inaugural California Crown race day at Santa Anita Park on 28 September, and on the prestigious Pegasus World Cup program held at Gulfstream Park on 25 January 2025.
At the upcoming Betfred St Leger Festival, the winner of the Group 2 Betfred May Hill Stakes will receive an invitation, with no fees attached, to the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational (GII), run over 1m 1/16f at Gulfstream Park in January 2025. Equally, the winner of the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes will receive free entry to the $750,000 California Crown Eddie D. Turf Sprint (GII), run over 6½ furlongs at Santa Anita Park at the end of September.
For the first time, Season 12 of the All-Weather Championships will open Finals Day qualification to any horse running three times over the season on an artificial surface in the USA, in addition to runs in the UK, Ireland or France.
As such, the winner of the Carousel Club Handicap at Gulfstream Park on 25 January will receive free entry to the All-Weather Championships Mile Final at Newcastle Racecourse on Good Friday, with two other qualifying runs. Season 12 of the All-Weather Championships begins in October 2024 across the six all-weather racecourses in Britain culminating with £1,000,000 Finals Day at Newcastle on Good Friday, 18 April 2025.
In addition to the free entry to each of these races, ARC and 1/ST will support the connections of any qualifying horse with a subsidy towards their travel.
This agreement follows on from the recent announcement of a new strategic alliance between ARC, 1/ST, Tabcorp and Racecourse Media Group to create a network of rights holders that will distribute content across multiple international markets.
Director of Media and International at ARC, Brendan Parnell, said: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with 1/ST to offer the winners of two of the most high-profile races during the Betfred St Leger Festival the opportunity to take up some exciting opportunities in the USA.
“Likewise, in extending the qualification criteria for the All-Weather Championships, and the link with Gulfstream Park, we hope that we might look to add some further international interest in the £1,000,000 Good Friday fixture, alongside the long standing Irish and French participation.”
Aidan Butler, President of 1/ST, said: “We’re thrilled to expand our existing partnership with ARC. Working with Doncaster and its revered St Leger Festival is truly a privilege, while we’re also looking forward to sending over a horse for the All-Weather Championships next Spring at Newcastle. Collectively, we’re playing our part to bring US and UK racing closer together across elite races on all surfaces.
“By coupling timeless tradition to forward-thinking innovation, via newly-conceived concepts like the California Crown at Santa Anita Park on 28 September (California's richest day of racing outside the Breeders’ Cup), we will only build on this association and progressive program in the years ahead. At 1/ST, our goal is always the betterment of top-class international fields, a cornerstone project in growing and sustaining the sport we love on both sides of the pond.”
