New Sky Bet Sunday Series to offer £200,000 in bonuses to owners and jockeys

The newly-announced Sky Bet Sunday Series is set to receive a major cash injection with the introduction of £200,000 in bonuses.

The funds will be part of the ITV4 coverage of three meetings over the summer, which already offers £600,000 in prize-money.

Any owner of a horse who wins at each fixture of the series will be entitled to a £100,000 bonus, with the money split in the case of multiple winners.

A further £100,000 will also be offered to any jockey who rides seven winners across the three racedays.

Trainer George Boughey said: "I fully support new initiatives such as the Sky Bet Sunday Series, which is boosting prize-money, as well as facilitating better Sunday fixtures.

"I definitely have some candidates for the £100,000 Sunday Series bonus and we will be trying our hardest to win races at all three of these fixtures."

George Boughey: 'I fully support new initiatives such as the Sky Bet Sunday Series'

The Sky Bet Sunday Series will broadcast three seven-race cards at Musselburgh (July 25), Haydock (August 8), and Sandown (August 22).

A £10,000 bonus will be extended towards stable staff, with the series offering £250 for the best-turned-out of each race.

Jockey Paul Hanagan added: "Sunday racing is a real opportunity to get more people interested in racing and it’s great to see the industry working together on the Sky Bet Sunday Series. The £600,000 prize-money across the series is extremely welcome, as are the bonuses.

"It’s going to be a big ask to ride seven winners at the three fixtures, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility, and you can be sure a £100,000 bonus will concentrate the minds of us jockeys!"

The pilot series was announced in May in a bid to promote Sunday racing across Britain and increase racing on terrestrial TV into 2022.

ITV Racing host Oli Bell will provide coverage that seeks to shine a spotlight on smaller trainers, owners, and jockeys, as well as showcasing behind-the-scenes elements of the sport.

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