The 2019 prize money contributions of the Jockey Club Racecourses will remain at £27.1 million, despite the news that there will be a multi-million pound reduction in revenues from licensed betting office media rights after the goverment's Gambling Review, the Jockey Club Racecourses announced on Thursday. The prize money will be split across a total of 347 programmed fixtures at the 15 JCR venues, but it will be sourced from the Jockey Club Racecourses own resources. The industry's Appearance Money Scheme (AMS) will be unlocked, for as long as this remains an industry-agreed funding model.
“Every independent estimate has us facing a significant hit to our revenues from reduced media rights income as betting shops close across Britain on the back of the Gambling Review,” said JCR's Chief Executive Paul Fisher. “We've had some tough decisions to make and we've chosen to prioritise our contribution to prize money because we know how important it is to racing's participants. We will maintain this record contribution from our resources for as long as we can, which comes at a cost to other areas of investment, such as improving our facilities. We already reinvest every penny we make so a reduction in revenues means less to go back into the sport.”
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