Royal Ascot prize money cut by more than half to £3.68m

Royal Ascot offered £7.3m in prize money in 2019

Prize money at this month's Royal Ascot meeting has been cut by more than half.

A total of £3.7m will be on offer when the meeting is held behind closed doors from 16 to 20 June because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers said in December 2019 that they hoped to offer more than £8m.

The 55% reduction means all races will be run for a minimum of £35,000, rather than £95,000, while the eight Group One contests at the expanded meeting will each be worth £250,000.

Ascot had been planning to run its first two £1m races at the meeting, with the Prince of Wales' Stakes and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes increased from £750,000 and £600,000 respectively.

Chief executive Guy Henderson said: "This year was set to be a landmark year for Royal Ascot prize money. However, these unprecedented times have intervened.

"Some 70% of our annual income comes from public admissions, including hospitality, and producing in excess of £3.5m in prize money in the current circumstances would not have been possible without the support and commitment of our wonderful partners."