Arena Racing Company and Vertem Asset Management are delighted to announce that the 2019 Vertem Futurity Trophy will now be run at Newcastle on Friday 1 November.
Following significant rain ahead of the scheduled running of the Group 1 race at Doncaster on Saturday 26 October, the fixture was abandoned. This move, ratified by BHA and supported by the Levy Board is the second time that the race has been run at Newcastle (the first occurrence taking place in 1989) and will be the first Group 1 run on a synthetic surface in Britain.
John Dance, of sponsor Vertem Asset Management, commented, “It was a real shame that the Futurity Trophy was lost to the weather today, but as a big supporter of racing in the North and of Newcastle in particular, I’m absolutely delighted to see the race come up here.”
“The straight mile at Newcastle is a fantastic track, as seen by the quality of young horses that have run here in the last few years so we can not wait for Friday and to be associated with a race of the highest quality at our home racecourse.”
Arena Racing Company Chief Executive Martin Cruddace said, “We were obviously very sorry to lose the Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster today, but I am delighted that we have been able to move so quickly to rearrange the race, at its original prize money levels, to Newcastle on Friday evening.
“We would obviously like to thank our colleagues at the BHA, the Levy Board and horsemen for their cooperation and, of course, our sponsors, Vertem. All have done a brilliant job working together and with us to rearrange the race so quickly. We hope that all racing fans in the North East will embrace the fixture and come along to enjoy Britain’s first ever Group 1 race run on an artificial surface. Our tapeta track at Newcastle is world class and I am sure the track will do the famous race proud.
