World Pool, the largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, will make its UK seasonal bow at Newmarket Racecourse on Saturday 4 May, where a brand new £50,000 initiative is being launched for jockeys.
For the first time the opening two Classics of the UK Flat season will both be World Pool events, with the QIPCO 1000 Guineas on Sunday 5 May becoming a new World Pool race this year and joining the 2000 Guineas run the day before.
Guineas weekend will also see the start of a new World Pool initiative, the World Pool UK & Ireland Jockeys’ Championship, where jockeys will compete to accumulate points across World Pool fixtures in the UK & Ireland.
For the winning jockey of every World Pool race in the UK and Ireland, points will be awarded based on the World Pool win dividend. The concept of this point system offers a level playing field for all jockeys, from leaders to rising stars, and their chances of winning are dictated by the public as reflected by their World Pool odds.
Beginning with the QIPCO 2000 Guineas, the competition will conclude on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on 19 October, with the winner receiving £50,000 to be donated to a charity of their choice.
A further new addition to the World Pool calendar this year will be the Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas on Sunday 26 May. The Tattersalls Gold Cup, run on the same day, will also be a World Pool race for the first time, with prize money increased from €450,000 in 2023 to €500,000 this year.
Following the successful introduction of World Pool Moment of the Year in 2022 in Great Britain and Ireland, this will continue in 2024 covering all full World Pool meetings and will reward stable staff with cash prizes, as well as a VIP trip to Hong Kong for four people in 2025 to the overall winner.
One World Pool Moment of the Day will be selected at each full World Pool meeting with the winning groom receiving HK$40,000 (or equivalent – £4,000 in the UK and €4,000 in Ireland).
Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “It’s fantastic to be returning to the UK and Ireland with an extended World Pool fixture list this year now featuring the English and Irish 1000 Guineas, and we look forward to making these historic fillies’ Classics available to customers from around the world.
“In addition to the popular World Moment of the Day initiative, we’re excited to announce the new World Pool UK & Ireland Jockeys’ Championship, which will provide a different dimension and further competition to World Pool racedays right up until QIPCO British Champions Day in October.
“It’s a unique competition, with a jockey’s points being determined by World Pool win dividends, and a great initiative as there’s £50,000 up for grabs for the leading rider to donate to a charity of their choice. We are committed to giving money back to racing and good causes, and this seemed the perfect way to do that.”
Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “It’s always an exciting time of year as the Flat season gets underway and we’re delighted that both the UK’s first Classics are World Pool events. City Of Troy has the potential to be a global superstar and we look forward to his seasonal reappearance being watched and bet on by 28 countries who play into the UK’s first World Pool event of 2024.
“Racing fans in the UK and Ireland will be able to access the huge global pools at tote.co.uk, on the Tote App and at racecourses which means excellent value is on offer, while the sport benefits from this increasingly important revenue stream.”
Martin Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), which represents the media interests of The Jockey Club, Goodwood, and York Racecourses, said: “RMG looks forward to another exciting World Pool season in UK and Ireland, and will continue to work closely with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, UK Tote and our racecourses to grow both the sport’s revenues and global appeal.”
Amy Starkey, Managing Director, Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and thank them for their support as we deliver three exciting World Pool days across the QIPCO Guineas Festival and the Betfred Derby Festival.
“For the first time in the UK, we have worked alongside World Pool to host a nine-race card on QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day. This will include the first Classic of the season, whilst we are also delighted to feature the following day’s three-year-old Classic Fillies’ race, the QIPCO 1000 Guineas, as a World Pool race for the first time.
“World Pool enables strong reinvestment back into British racing and working alongside them to secure these additional races is an important step as we continue to strengthen links with Hong Kong, engage more fans with British racing and strive to grow our sport.”
Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of the Curragh Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to extend our relationship with World Pool in 2024 with the Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas and the Tattersalls Gold Cup on 26 May and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby meeting on 30 June included in the programme.
“We had a very positive first experience with World Pool last year and look forward to building on it this year, bringing our racing to a wider audience. Irish horses have enjoyed great success internationally in recent years and we are delighted to be showcasing our best races through World Pool.
“Inclusion in World Pool has enabled us to increase prizemoney at the Curragh in 2024 and we look forward to developing this relationship further in the future.”
Upcoming UK and Irish World Pool events in first half of 2024:
May
Saturday 4: 2000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Racecourse (F)
Sunday 5: 1000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Racecourse (S)
Saturday 18: Lockinge Stakes Day – Newbury Racecourse (P)
Sunday 26: Irish 1000 Guineas Day – Curragh Racecourse (P)
June
Saturday 1: Derby Stakes Day – Epsom Racecourse (F)
Tuesday 18: Queen Anne Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Wednesday 19: Prince of Wales’s Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Thursday 20: Gold Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Friday 21: Commonwealth Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Saturday 22: Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Sunday 30: Irish Derby Day – Curragh Racecourse (F)
*F: Full meeting – World Pool coverage on all races in the relevant meeting
P: Part meeting – World Pool coverage only on selected races in the relevant meeting
S: Single race – World Pool coverage only on this race in the relevant meeting