Purse Money Boosted to £1 Million for Coral-Eclipse
Prize money for the Coral-Eclipse Stakes (G1) has been boosted to £1 million (US$1,278,030) this year, making it the richest-ever race to be staged at Sandown.
The increase of £250,000 for the group 1 has been described as a “landmark moment” for the race, which will mark 50 years of sponsorship by bookmaker Coral this summer.
The Eclipse prize money had come under increased scrutiny following Ascot’s announcement in January that the purse for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) would be increased to £1.5 million this year, alongside refunding entry for any horse who ends up running in the contest.
Sarah Drabwell, Sandown’s general manager, said: “With Sandown Park celebrating its 150th birthday in 2025, it is tremendous news that we will be able to stage our first £1 million race in this milestone year.
“I would like to extend huge thanks to Coral for helping to bring this about and for its longstanding and enthusiastic sponsorship of the Eclipse, which is the longest of any group 1 race in the world.”
City of Troy won last year’s race, and his trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “The Coral-Eclipse is a very prestigious race and we are very much looking forward to this year’s running of the race at Sandown.
“It’s the first time in the season when 3-year-olds meet older horses over a mile and a quarter; it’s a very informative race for the rest of the season going forward. It’s always a very hard race to win; it’s very important to any horse that wins it—either a colt or a filly.”
The prize-money boost brings the Coral-Eclipse in line with the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, which is also run over a mile and a quarter, and closer to the £1.25 million Juddmonte International (G1) at York, which was won by City of Troy following his Eclipse victory last year.
Simon Clare, PR director for Coral, said: “The Coral-Eclipse is one of the most prestigious flat races in the world and we are incredibly proud of our long-standing association with the race.
“This is the longest-running group race sponsorship in the world, and this year we are thrilled to be celebrating the 50th year of our patronage of the race, which began back in 1976.
“The prize money increase to £1 million is another landmark moment for the race, a race which remains firmly at the forefront of the minds of leading trainers, owners, and breeders, and which continues to stand the test of time.”
The mid-summer racing program in Britain has undergone a prize money and bonus boost this year in an attempt to lure more international participants and retain homegrown talent.
As well as the increases to the purses on offer at Ascot and Sandown, the British Midsummer Bonus scheme was also launched in January by Ascot, Goodwood and York.
This will pay bonuses of up to £1 million to connections of horses trained outside Europe if they win the King George and the Sussex Stakes (G1) at Glorious Goodwood, with an appearance fee of up to £250,000 if the winners of either of those races goes on to run in the Juddmonte International.
