British Champions Day 2018 at the Ascot Racecourse

The ultimate raceday - QIPCO British Champions Day 2018
20th October 2018 at the Ascot Racecourse

QIPCO British Champions Day is the ultimate raceday and the finale of the British Flat racing season. Ascot racecourse is set alight on the nation's richest ever raceday, as champions are crowned kings and queens of the turf. 

The best horses and jockeys from across the globe will be in action to compete for a record-breaking £4.35m purse, as they bid to follow in the hoof prints of former Series stars. Britain's ultimate race day also hosts unbeatable action off the track; with a glitzy opening ceremony, Stobart Champion Flat Jockey coronation and a huge After Party that features both Ella Eyre and Jax Jones. 

Racing

The best thoroughbreds will be in action to compete for a record-breaking £4.3m worth of prize money. Each race represents a chance for the best equine athletes in their division to become Champion. 2017 saw the Frankel's son Cracksman cement himself as an equine superstar, while star filly Persuasive beat the boys to land the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. There promises to be fireworks again this year as the class of 2018 battle it out to be crowned Champion.

I. The QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup (live on ITV and Racing UK)

The staying stars are the first to take to the track in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. In 2017, Order of St George gave Aidan O'Brien his second victory in the race as he stayed on till the line. 

With two demanding miles (3,200 metres) of Ascot's famous turf to negotiate, the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup provides a thorough test of stamina for flat racing's top stayers as they contest the final major long distance of the British season.

The seven races in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance category vary in distance from the extended 1 3/4 miles of Doncaster's Ladbrokes St Leger to the 2 1/2 miles of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. The two-mile trip of the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance provides the perfect distance for the category finale.

With £500,000 in prize money, it is the second most valuable all-aged long distance race in the British calendar after the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. 

Previous winners: Order of St George (IRE) in 2017, Sheikhzayedroad (GB) in 2016

II. The QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes (live on ITV and Racing UK)

The sprinters take centre stage in the £600,000 QIPCO British Champions Day Sprint, one of the most hotly contested races.

The six furlong (1,200 metres) contest provides the grand finale to the QIPCO British Champions Series Sprint category. It was run as a Group 1 for the first time in 2015.

Run for the first time in 2011, the QIPCO British Champions Series takes place over the same course and distance as the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

III. The QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes (live on ITV and Racing UK)

The £600,000 climax to the QIPCO British Champions Series Fillies & Mares category provides a fantastic end-of-season target for the top female stars of the turf.

The climax to the seven-race QIPCO British Champions Series Fillies and Mares category is run over 1 1/2 miles (2,400 metres) and is open to all fillies and mares aged three years and older (female thoroughbreds are known as fillies up to the age of four and mares from five onwards).

The race was elevated to Group 1 status in 2013, doubling in prize money to £500,000. It is now worth £600,000.

Whilst fillies and mares can contest all five category finales on QIPCO British Champions Day, having their own category gives them the chance to shine against their own sex without having to take on the best of their male counterparts.

IV. The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (live on ITV and Racing UK)

Some of the best horses in the world line up to contest Europe's richest mile race, with a roll of honour including Minding, Solow and Frankel. It's a list that everyone wants to join.

Long recognised as Europe's mile championship, 1,600 metre races come no bigger than this anywhere on the international stage. With £1.1 million in prize money, the race has entered a different stratosphere in financial terms, boosted from £250,000 in 2010 when it was run at Ascot's late September meeting. It is now by far the richest mile race in Europe and one of the most valuable in the world. 

Named in honour of The Queen in 1955, the race has a roll of honour packed full of stars, including Brigadier Gerard (1971 and 72), Known Fact (1980), Dubai Millennium (1999) and the awesome Frankel, who took the race in 2011 in effortless fashion to maintain his unbeaten record. 

V. The QIPCO Champion Stakes (live on ITV and Racing UK)

Europe's richest ten furlong race was won in scintillating fashion by Cracksman in 2017. Can the son of Frankel scoop the day's feature race in 2018?

With £1.3m in prize money, the QIPCO Champion Stakes is the most valuable mile and a quarter race in Europe. 

Following on from iconic races like the Investec Derby and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth stakes (sponsored by QIPCO), this is the final, pulsating showdown in the QIPCO British Champions Series Middle Distance category. 

The race brought a great heritage from Newmarket, where it was run from its inception in 1877 until 2010. But the dramatic injection in prize money (the 2010 renewal was just £350,000) that accompanied its move to become the glittering highlight of the new QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot has changed its status completely.

Now it can compete in financial terms on flat racing's international stage and the 2011 contest attracted a sensational field, packed with many of the world's highest-rated middle-distance horses.

The 2012 renewal was truly exceptional with the world's best middle-distance racehorse Frankel registering his 14th straight victory in what was the final race of his career. His half-brother, Noble Mission, kept the race in the family in 2014 for an emotional victory for Lady Jane Cecil as he defeated Champions Series stalwart Al Kazeem in a thrilling finish.

In 2015, Dermot Weld continued his brilliant form on Champions Day as he saddled Fascinating Rock to land the feature contest. Twelve months later the outstanding Almanzor was a dazzling winner for France.

In 2017, Cracksman took the prize.