Glorious Goodwood, which will be held next month at the “world’s most beautiful racecourse,” just got richer.
The pot for the eight key races has increased to $6.72 million — an increase of $650,000 from last year — as Qatari investment in British racing continues to grow, with the Gulf state increasing the prize money on offer at the 26-30 July event.
Long known as “Glorious Goodwood,” the event is now known as the Qatar Goodwood Festival after a 10-year sponsorship deal was signed with Qatar in 2014.
The event’s most lucrative race, the Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes, is one of the world’s most valuable mile races although its prize money of $1,350,000 is unchanged despite the funding increase.
Nonetheless, the figure compares favorably to the $1,540,000 on offer for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
The richest horse race in British racing is the Derby, whose purse this year was $2,090,000.
“Nowhere else can match the quality and heritage of racing in Britain, which is why we chose to base our racing and breeding operations here,” Sheikh Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Thani, the Chairman of Qatar Racing, said last year.
“It is in our interests to promote the quality of British racing as the value of the horses we race and the stallions we stand is enhanced if they are competing in the country with the best racing in the world.”
As well as being a leading event on the racing calendar, the five-day Qatar Goodwood Festival is also a fixture of the British societal calendar.
Horse racing at Goodwood began in 1802, founded by the third Duke of Richmond.
