King George boosted by record prize fund and ‘run for free’ initiative

In a bid to attract increased competition, this year’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes will be run for £1.5million after Ascot Racecourse announced record levels of overall prize money at the course in 2025.

Any horses lining up for the King George will also have their entry fees refunded in full – except supplementary entries.

The track will put on races worth £17.75m in total this year – and that figure excludes the industry-owned Qipco British Champions Day, which carried £4.1m last term.

Prize money at Royal Ascot will once again be £10m, with no race run for less than £110,000 and all Group One races worth a minimum of £650,000.

Ascot’s executive contribution to prize money will increase from £9.4m in 2024 to a budgeted £10.1m in 2025 and CEO Felicity Barnard said: “We are delighted to be continuing our upward trajectory.”

French raider Goliath took top honours in the King George last season, with subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Bluestocking in second in a race worth £1.25m, and the hope is that more overseas connections will be tempted to target the mid-summer mile-and-a-half showpiece.

Ruth Quinn, director of international racing and development at the British Horseracing Authority, said: “The King George is obviously a wonderfully iconic race and plays a vital role in the programme, particularly in terms of the ever-important middle-distance horse.

“The £1.5m prize fund, particularly against the backdrop of increasing international competition to entice high-quality runners, is extremely welcome news.”

Ascot director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith added: “We have been thinking about the concept of ‘run for free’ for the King George for some time as a mechanism for incentivising runners at decision-making time, as there are other alternatives lower down the Pattern and overseas.

“Field sizes are very important, especially in the World Pool era, and we hope that connections of horses that aren’t at the top of the betting might see this as a good reason to go for the big target, especially with record prize money on offer.”