In one of the most valuable initiatives in recent jump-racing history, the jockey who wins the most races on ITV between now and the Friday of the Grand National meeting in April, will win a staggering £500,000 first prize, a life-changing amount.
Part of a £1.5 million prize-fund package put up by the Flutter Group (Betfair and Paddy Power), the David Power Jockeys’ Cup, which commemorates the late Irish bookmaker, will also see £200,000 given for the runner-up, and £100,000 for third with money distributed down to £10,000 for 10th place with an additional £25,000 for the leading conditional jockey.
The trainer providing the most winners will get 10 per cent (£50,000 in the case of the winner) and the staff an equal amount. That is reciprocated at every level. However, owners are not scheduled to receive a penny.
Last year it would have been won by Harry Cobden who was also champion jockey and, though it is open to all jockeys, there is a relatively short list of potential winners including Cobden, Harry Skelton and Nico de Boinville, while Sam Twiston-Davies, Sean Bowen and Gavin Sheehan would have an outside chance.
Though Rachael Blackmore is being rolled out at Friday’s press conference launch, if an Irish jockey were to win it, he or she would pretty much have to base themselves over here, though a good Cheltenham Festival could see them climb up the ranks.
Points will be scored on an easy-to-understand basis for finishing first, second, third or fourth in more than 100 races. According to Flutter’s research, 45 per cent of British people say they would follow racing if it was easier to watch and 38 per cent want more access to the behind-the-scenes stories of the jockeys. This sponsorship is putting jockeys out there and showcasing their personalities to both an old and new fanbase.
“This season is set to be very exciting and I can’t wait to be part of the inaugural David Power Jockeys’ Cup,” said Cobden. “It’s a huge amount on offer and I’m sure it will create some great competition as we’ll all be trying to win as many of those ITV races as we can.”
Skelton described it as a ‘new pinnacle in the sport.’ He said: “There’s nothing like the adrenaline of competing with the best. This is our chance to put it all on the line. Win a transformative amount of money, and honour the legacy of a true racing legend.”
Blackmore said it would add a ‘massive layer of excitement’ to the season. “It’s great to see this level of innovation and investment in racing, particularly towards jockeys,” she said.
It’s the equivalent of winning the Grand National 10 times in a season
by Marcus Armytage
By anyone’s standards £500,000 is a staggering amount of money.
To put it into context a jump jockey, whose income is made up from £221 a ride and nine per cent of the advertised total win prize money, this is the financial equivalent of winning the Grand National 10 times in one season.
Even in his pomp, Sir Anthony McCoy with 200 winners and a JP McManus retainer was probably struggling to bring that sort of income home.
Any investment in racing on this level is to be welcomed as a good thing. This puts jockeys at the forefront of the campaign to get racing back up the sporting news agenda and, in return, they will need to rise to the challenge.
New series of Champions: Full Gallop commissioned
A month ago this deal was not even on the table but there is nothing like a deadline to focus minds (ask a journalist). All parties have worked swiftly to cobble together a format that should work and, one assumes, it will tie in with an announcement on Friday of a second series of Champions: Full Gallop as one of its key storylines.
It is understood a number of the principal jockeys have signed contracts worth £4,000 for which each has to wear headcams a minimum number of times, give a minimum number of interviews and, possibly should the new innovation get the all-clear, wear a microphone down to the start.
They did not have long to think about it but they came to the conclusion that it was just too much money to turn down. If you are a jockey lower down the pecking order and cut out of the deal, well, it’s something to aspire to.
Of course this being racing where the pie is divided into factions rather than fractions, not everyone will be overly happy at someone else getting all the dough.
‘Owners may be choking on their cornflakes’
At the moment, owners, who I understand have not been consulted and may be choking on their cornflakes reading this, do not get a penny out of it, although if it is successful it will benefit them further down the road. I would be being facetious if I said racecourses would want a cut out of it too.
Can I see a downside? Not really. The leading jockeys get on so well, as much as anything because of the dangerous nature of the sport, that they could all happily co-exist in the same house – they might need to bring back a maverick like Paddy Brennan to shake it up.
If there is an unintended consequence it is that the best jockeys with a chance of winning the big prizes might decide it is just not worth riding in the summer because of the risks of injury and the jockeys’ championship, with its £10,000 first prize, becomes something of an irrelevance.
