King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes prize fund to rise to record £2.5m in 2027

The latest boost represents a 25 per cent increase on next year’s renewal and doubles the value of the race compared to 2024, as Ascot continues its drive to strengthen one of Britain’s flagship Flat contests.

Saturday’s 2026 renewal is already set to be run for a record £2 million, following a £500,000 increase from last year, placing it alongside the Derby has the joint-richest race in Britain. From 2027, the King George will stand alone with the highest prize fund in British Flat racing.

Ascot says the increased investment is designed to preserve the race’s status as Britain’s leading all-aged Flat contest while narrowing the gap to Europe’s richest middle-distance race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which will offer €5 million (£4.24m) this year.

The announcement was made alongside Ascot’s 2025 financial results, which showed record turnover, increased profits and the racecourse becoming debt free following the completion of repayments linked to its redevelopment.

Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith said of next year’s rise: “This is the second year of significant prize-money increases for the King George as we try to start building parity towards the Arc.

“Obviously that’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s the benchmark for European prize-money, and if the King George is going to maintain its position as Britain’s most prestigious all-aged race, which I think the industry wants it to be, then prize-money works.”

Ascot hopes the increased prize money will continue to attract elite international runners, following recent appearances from overseas stars including Japan’s Masquerade Ball.

The racecourse has also been working alongside the Jockey Club, Goodwood and York to promote Britain’s summer racing programme internationally, with the July Cup, Sussex Stakes and Juddmonte International among the major races being showcased.

Smith believes maintaining the strength of the domestic summer calendar is essential as owners and trainers increasingly target lucrative meetings abroad later in the season.

He said: “We can’t rely on the Classics and Royal Ascot to stand up as they always do. We have to enhance the midsummer and we have to protect the midsummer, which is when domestic trainers and connections are starting to focus on the lucrative autumn overseas.

“We can’t let that drift and we have to make sure that our trainers, and trainers outside the country, are focusing on this golden period between the July Cup and Juddmonte International.”

Further prize-money increases across Ascot’s programme are expected to be confirmed later this year.

Smith added: “We’ll be looking at Royal Ascot and the whole programme. We increased 52 per cent of all of our races this year and we’ll look at the wider programme and announce that in December.”

The financial results behind the investment showed turnover rising by 4.8 per cent to a record £118.6 million during 2025. Pre-tax profit increased from £8.42 million to £10.55 million, while attendance across Ascot’s fixtures climbed by 3.7 per cent to 532,956 racegoers.

The racecourse also moved from net debt of £4.6 million at the end of 2024 to net cash of £10.4 million after repaying a mandatory £3 million loan.

Smith said: “We’re debt free and we can start to look to the future, which of course is one of the reasons why we’re able to make these quite punchy prize-money increases early.”

He also confirmed Ascot would continue investing in the racecourse itself.

Smith said: “We’ll certainly be looking at what the customers want to see and what, if any, major improvements need to be made.”

Ascot chief executive Felicity Barnard said the racecourse’s financial position would allow further investment both on and off the track.

She said: “It allows us to invest in our site, enhance the customer experience and continue to strengthen our racing product.

“We were delighted to welcome more than 286,000 guests to Royal Ascot in 2025 and saw attendances increasing again this summer for the third consecutive year.

“This continued growth reflects our focus on strengthening the Ascot brand and listening closely to what our guests value most.”