Arena Racing Company is pleased to announce the return of the £1million All-Weather Bonus scheme, which runs from October 21 to Good Friday, April 3.
Runners at ARC’s four all-weather tracks – Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Southwell and Wolverhampton – will once again compete for a range of bonus prizes, including five ‘Horse of the Month’ competitions and the overall £100,000 ‘Horse of the Year’ title.
The number of bonus money on offer has increased by £150,000 for 2025/26 – along with a change to the points system for the Horse of the Month and Horse of the Year competitions.
The Horse of the Month competition will pay the first ten places in January, February and March/April. The top three horses receive £40,000, £20,000 and £10,000 respectively, while those in 4th-10th will each receive a prize of £4,500 as well as £500 to the associated racing staff of each horse. The top three horses in October/November and December's Horse of The Month competitions will continue to share a total pot of £35,000.
The Horse of the Year competition will now give prizes down to the top 30 horses across the year. Horses accrue points for the Horse of the Year competition on a maximum of fifteen runs across the season, with points allocated to the first three runs in any given monthly period.
The new points system is detailed below, with points available down to eighth for horses running at ARC all-weather tracks during January, February and March/April.
1st - 25 points
2nd - 18 points
3rd - 15 points
4th - 12 points
5th - 10 points
6th - 8 points
7th - 6 points
8th - 4 points
Lanarkshire trainer Jim Goldie had Oriental Prince, Humble Spark and Midnight Lion in the top 20 of last season’s Horse of the Year standings, with the trio securing combined bonuses of £42,000.
Goldie said: “The All-Weather Bonus is a great incentive and we will be trying our best to win as much money as we can. To have three horses in the top 20 last year was pretty good going because the competition appears to be getting hotter and hotter.
“We have quite a few horses lined up for it and part of the fun for punters will be trying to work out who they are! In fairness, none of them are dark horses and are probably high enough in the handicap, whereas last winter Oriental Prince had only had a handful runs beforehand and was unexposed.
“I have noticed that the All-Weather Bonus adds another layer of interest for owners. It incentivises them to get involved with race-planning and they enjoy plotting from one race to the next. It is just good fun and I think it is one of the best initiatives racing has introduced.”
For more information, please visit: https://www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk/racing/the-all-weather-bonus
