QIPCO British Champions Day Latest

Ascot will stage the most valuable day in British racing history on 15 October with £3m in prize money.  Image courtesy of racingfotos.com

SELL-OUT CROWD OF 30,000 IS FIRST YEAR TARGET

The aim for the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day, the glittering climax to the QIPCO British Champions Series on Saturday 15 October, is a sell-out crowd of 30,000, Ascot’s capacity for an autumn raceday without the provision of substantial temporary facilities.

“We see a sell-out crowd of 30,000, which is around double the number of people that enjoyed the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in 2010, as a very appropriate first year target for what will be by far the richest raceday ever staged in this country,” said Rod Street, the newly appointed Chief Executive of British Champions Series Limited.

“Most of our hospitality facilities, including the entire Ascot pavilion which can accommodate over 1,000 people for lunch, have already been sold which is fantastic news and we expect ticket sales to start moving swiftly once our database marketing campaign starts later this month.

“Our message is that if you want to be part of this exciting new event and see some of the stars of the season chasing the £3m in prize money on QIPCO British Champions Day, then book your tickets in advance because there must be a strong chance that we’ll sell out before the day.”

Tickets are priced at £45 for Premier admission and £26 for Grandstand admission. To book tickets, CLICK HERE.

SECTIONAL TIMING RETURNS TO BRITAIN

QIPCO British Champions Day will see the return of sectional timing to British racing, with Turftrax providing and operating the system.

If the response from the race-going public and TV viewers is positive, it is hoped to roll it out across the whole series in 2012.

Rod Street said: "Most other sports offer some form of performance-related electronic data to their viewers and we feel the sectional timing will provide greater context to the races.

“Our sponsor, QIPCO, is very supportive of sectional timing and, whilst they can’t control the sport’s overall strategy on this, it is tremendous news that their sponsorship of the series has at least allowed us to get sectional timing back on the agenda and add value to the broadcast experience."