Eight courses in the UK and Ireland have been announced as the courses that will play host to the proposed new summer racing team competition.
Ayr, Epsom, Goodwood, Haydock, Leopardstown, Newbury, Newmarket and Sandown are the courses that will play host to an F1-style event known as ‘The Series’.
The Series will be a 48-race competition taking place in the evenings of the summer of 2019.
The competition will feature 12 teams, each team comprising of 30 horses, four jockeys and a racing manager. Each race will be worth £100,000 in prize money.
Champion Horse Racing are the firm behind the competition, as they seek sanctioning from the BHA, because the event would take place outside of the current fixture list. The event is proposed to run from July 25 to September 12, featuring eight different meetings with seven races on each card.
The winner of each race will win 25 points, similar to the points structure in F1. The points will then be divided up for the minor honours - tenth place will gain just one point.
There has been some criticism to the proposed competition. Qatar Racing owner, Sheikh Fahad Al Thani has slammed the idea, claiming it is ridiculous.
He tweeted: “Surely before the BHA sanction a ridiculous idea like ‘the team competition’ they’d take the advice of owners and trainers in racing?”Jeremy Wray, the chief executive of the project, hopes the event will “turbo-boost audience, prize money and participation growth rates.”
Championship Horse Racing have yet to make a formal approach to the BHA, but the BHA have confirmed that the two parties have discussed The Series. No sponsors or teams taking part in The Series have been revealed at this time.