Winter Million Festival: Windsor and Ascot to host valuable jumps fixtures from 2025 in move from Lingfield
Friday and Sunday's Winter Million jumps fixtures will take place at Windsor from 2025, all live on Sky Sports Racing; Ascot's Grade One Clarence House Chase card to form part of newly-named Berkshire Winter Million Weekend, with £1.2m in prize money
Saturday 20 January 2024 16:09, UK
Windsor will be the new host of the Winter Million Festival's two jumps fixtures from 2025, Arena Racing Company (ARC) has announced.
Jumping is set to return to the Berkshire track in December this year for the first time since 1998 and the Royal racecourse will play host to two days of the valuable three-day Winter Million Festival, which was introduced in 2022.
Lingfield currently hosts both jumps fixtures and an All-Weather flat card, but poor weather conditions have so far claimed three of the jumps cards, including this year's opening day.
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Ascot's Clarence House Chase card, which was also abandoned again this weekend due to frozen ground, will now form part of the Berkshire Winter Million Weekend, with over £1.2m in prize money available.
The £165,000 Fitzdares Fleur de Lys Chase will headline the Sunday card at Windsor.
Mark Spincer, managing director of ARC's racing division said: "We were delighted to announce the return of jump racing to Royal Windsor last year, and to make this further announcement regarding the Berkshire Winter Million Weekend.
"We hope that, alongside the fantastic day's racing at Ascot Racecourse, the three days will be a hugely exciting one for racing fans to look forward to in the New Year."
Felicity Barnard, commercial director and deputy CEO at Ascot, said, "We look forward to being a part of the inaugural Berkshire Winter Million Weekend in 2025 and hope it will be an exciting weekend for racegoers to combine a visit to both tracks as well as those watching from home on both Sky Sports Racing and ITV Racing."
