No 'radical' changes as BHA reveals 2025 fixture list, but jockeys' representative warns approach is 'unsustainable'

The BHA on Wednesday revealed a 2025 fixture list that it admitted contained no "significant or radical" changes, an approach the Professional Jockeys Association subsequently warned was "unsustainable and hardly likely to reverse the sport's fortunes".

There are 1,460 fixtures scheduled in Britain for 2025, the second year of a two-year trial of initiatives designed to boost the sport's appeal. That is the lowest number of fixtures since 2012, but is down just eight on this year, with the volume of races largely unchanged as the reduction came from eight courses suspending one fixture for a year and instead adding the races to existing cards.

The main innovation of the sport's trial has been the introduction of Premier racedays, which will total 162 next year. That is down from the 170 programmed for 2024, although five Premier meetings were already handed back this year by the Jockey Club as a result of its reduction in prize-money contributions announced in April. The Saturday afternoon protected window remains in place for 2025.

Prize-money will be increased by ten per cent at Premier racedays in 2025 with six new top-tier fixtures scheduled for Sundays next year.

Racecourses are required to put on minimum levels of prize-money to be granted Premier status and next year a Premier Flat meeting on a Saturday or during a midweek afternoon will need minimum prize-money of £275,000 – with no race worth less than £22,000 – while over jumps the minimum levels will be £250,000 and £16,500 respectively.

The BHA's director of racing Richard Wayman on Wednesday said that enhancing prize-money for Premier racing had been a key objective.

"As well as trying to make Premier racing as good as it can be, we are also in this battle to try to retain high-quality horses in this country and reduce the number of good horses we are losing, and so increased prize-money at those meetings was another reason for us wanting to raise the criteria," he said.

For a Sunday Premier meeting, or one taking place on a midweek evening, prize-money on the Flat is required to be no less than £247,500 and £198,000 over jumps.

There will be 24 Sunday Premier fixtures in 2025, although the Sky Bet Sunday Series will be run as core fixtures. Nevertheless, it will offer prize-money of at least £200,000 per raceday.

• 'Significant headwinds' facing British racing as falls in betting turnover continue 

Wayman said: "What I think we have achieved in two years is a significant strengthening of Sundays through those increased Premier racedays."

However, Wayman said the governing body's priority was the 2026 fixture list as it seeks to build on the lessons of the two-year trial.

He said: "The really big piece of work for racing to do now – and that work starts pretty much immediately and will need to be concluded by early next year – is what will we do at the end of the trial? What will the 2026 fixture list look like?

"We have always said we will learn lessons as we go. We'll listen to customers, we'll get the insight from customers and data from customers.

"We all recognise we need to do better than we have done historically but hopefully the lessons we have learned through the course of this trial will help us shape where we go from 2026."

Richard Wayman: "What I think we have achieved in two years is a significant strengthening of Sundays through those increased Premier racedays"

Although it is a two-year trial, Wayman acknowledged that choices on the future shape of the fixture list would need to be made much sooner than the end of 2025.

He said: "The reality is the sport will have to make some decisions based on the information we have in early 2025 about how things have gone so far.

"I think the idea that we just have to keep going until the end of 2025 before doing anything is unrealistic. We’ll make use of the data and insight we have by early next year."

The fixture list was given a guarded reception by Professional Jockeys Association racing director Dale Gibson, who welcomed changes to jockeys' breaks but warned the sport must be bolder in future.

Dale Gibson: lack of major change "unsustainable"

He said: "We welcome the key improvements, including the extended National Hunt summer break, the moving of the Flat jockeys’ break and use of rider-restricted races to extend that break and add a shorter break during February half-term, alongside other programming elements that must continue to evolve.

"That being said, continuing to produce a fixture list where little changes from one year to the next is unsustainable and hardly likely to reverse the sport's fortunes."

The Flat jockeys' break will now begin after the final day of the turf season and is extended by three days for the busiest jockeys by the use of rider-restricted meetings.

2025 fixture list: the key points

• A total of 1,460 programmed fixtures, down eight on 2024
• 162 Premier racedays, down eight on the programmed figure for 2024, with minimum prize-money criteria raised by ten per cent
• A continuation of the Saturday afternoon protected window, "resulting in a better spread of races across the day"
• Further strengthening of Sunday racing, with six new Premier racedays resulting in a total of 24 across the year
• Actions to improve competitiveness, including extended use of race divisions, "agile" race planning, and entering from scratch introduced when rescheduling major races at alternative venues
• Changes to the fixture list breaks on the Flat, with an eight-day break starting straight after the November Handicap and extending for a further three days for the busiest Flat riders through the use of rider-restricted meetings

Read this next:

Former MCC boss Guy Lavender to become new Cheltenham chief executive in 2025 

The Racing Post is now available to follow on WhatsApp channels! Follow Racing Post Insider on WhatsApp and you can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest news, tips, insights, live reactions and much more. Click the group link and get Racing Post notifications straight to your phone via WhatsApp.