LAUREL, MD – The Jockey Club today announces an exciting new partnership with The Stronach Group’s 1/ST, North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company.
This ground-breaking initiative will create links between historic races in the UK and high-profile, valuable turf contests at 1/ST courses in North America. The 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 Group 1 summer highlights – the Coral-Eclipse and the My Pension Expert July Cup.
In addition, the winners of the Coral-Eclipse and My Pension Expert July Cup will gain an automatic entry and a travel incentive for two prestigious contests in North America in the autumn.
The full race schedule is below:
Turf Division
The winner of Santa Anita’s Charles Whittingham Stakes (Grade 2, $200,000, 10 furlongs) on Saturday 4th May will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the Coral-Eclipse (Group 1, £750,000, 10 furlongs) at Sandown Park on Saturday 6th July.
The winner of the Coral-Eclipse will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the California Crown John Henry Turf (Grade 2, $750,000, 10 furlongs) on Saturday 28th September at Santa Anita Park.
Turf Sprint Division
The winner of Pimlico’s Jim McKay Stakes (Listed Stakes, $100,000, 5 furlongs), on Saturday 18th May will receive an automatic entry and a travel incentive to run in the My Pension Expert July Cup (Group 1, £600,000, 6 furlongs) at Newmarket on Saturday 13th July.
The winner of the My Pension Expert 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 (Grade 2, $750,000, 6.5 furlongs) on Saturday 28th September at Santa Anita Park.
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, The Jockey Club’s 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 Group One 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 Park’s exciting new California Crown meeting.
“We feel we have highlighted a race schedule that incentivises runners to travel across the Atlantic.”