The 2023 Royal Ascot prize money received a 10% injection last year as there is now a staggering £9.52m on offer over the five-day meeting this week, with all eight Royal Ascot Group One races being run for a minimum of £600k for the first time. But how does Royal Ascot compare with the Cheltenham Festival and the other big UK races in terms of prize money?
Royal Ascot 2023 Prize Money Double the Cheltenham Festival
The Royal Ascot prize fund increase – up from £8.65m to £9.52m in 2023 – means the meeting is still racing ahead of its jumping counterpart the Cheltenham Festival, which had £4.7m on offer across their 2023 fixture back in March.
That said, despite lagging behind in the overall prize money table, the Cheltenham Festival does win the battle of the Gold Cups, with the jumping version carrying a winning haul of £351,991.08 over this year’s Ascot Gold Cup winners pot of £340,260.
Of course, Cheltenham fans will also point to the fact their festival is run over four days – one day shorter than Royal Ascot, which also gives the flat fixture seven more races.
Below are the main five 2023 Cheltenham Festival races and the winner’s prize fund.
| Race |
Winner Prize Money (2023) |
|
| Cheltenham Gold Cup |
£351,991 | |
| Champion Hurdle |
£253,215 | |
| QM Champion Chase |
£226,672 | |
| Ryanair Chase |
£211,012 | |
| Stayers’ Hurdle |
£197,695 | |
| TOTAL | £1,240,585 |
How Do The Main 2023 Royal Ascot Races Compare To The Grand National and Epsom Derby Prize Money?
It’s a mixed bag really – as even though the Aintree Grand National race is arguably the most famous race in the world the winning horse in 2023 – Corach Rambler – still banked less than the top two Royal Ascot races, getting £500,000.
With the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and QEII Jubilee Stakes worth worth £567,100 to the winners.
However, it’s the Epsom Derby that still holds the bragging rights over any Royal Ascot race and the Grand National, with a cool £885,781 going to the 2023 winner Auguste Rodin. (See the full table below).
| Race |
Winner Prize Money (2023) |
| Epsom Derby |
£885,781 |
| Prince Of Wales’s Stakes |
£567,100 |
| QEII Jubilee Stakes |
£567,100 |
| Grand National |
£500,000 |
Royal Ascot Group One Races Total Prize Money 2023
There are eight Group One races at Royal Ascot 2023, with these top-graded contests carrying a total winning purse of £3,276,420.
While, even though the Ascot Gold Cup is many people’s showcase race at the Royal Meeting, it’s not the contest that has the most winning prize money. This honour is shared between the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, which both have £567,100 on offer to the winner.
In fact, the Gold Cup comes in a joint fifth in the table, with the Queen Anne Stakes and King’s Stand Stakes also ahead of it in terms of prize money.
| Race |
Winner Prize Money (2023) |
|
| Prince Of Wales’s Stakes | £567,100 | |
| QEII Jubilee Stakes | £567,100 | |
| Queen Anne Stakes |
£425,325 | |
| King’s Stand Stakes |
£355,855 | |
| St James’s Palace Stakes |
£340,260 | |
| Ascot Gold Cup |
£340,260 | |
| Commonwealth Cup |
£340,260 | |
| Coronation Stakes |
£340,260 | |
| TOTAL | £3,276,420 |
Selected UK Horse Races Prize Money 2023 Table
See below how the big races from Royal Ascot, Cheltenham Festival and Epsom Derby Meeting rank in terms of the winner’s prize money.
| Race |
Winner Prize Money (2023) |
| Epsom Derby |
£885,781 |
| Prince Of Wales’s Stakes | £567,100 |
| QEII Jubilee Stakes | £567,100 |
| Grand National |
£500,000 |
| Queen Anne Stakes | £425,325 |
| Cheltenham Gold Cup |
£351,991 |
| St James’s Palace Stakes |
£340,260 |
| Ascot Gold Cup |
£340,260 |
| Commonwealth Cup |
£340,260 |
| Coronation Stakes |
£340,260 |
| Epsom Oaks |
£311,025 |
| Champion Hurdle |
£253,215 |
| QM Champion Chase |
£226,672 |
| Ryanair Chase |
£211,012 |
| Stayers’ Hurdle |
£197,695 |
Saudi Cup Winner Gets Almost The Entire Royal Ascot Prize Money Fund
Even with £9.5m in total prize money on offer at Royal Ascot 2023 it’s remarkable to think that almost this entire figure can be won by a single horse in a single race.
Step forward the Saudi Cup, which is run each year in February at the Riyadh racetrack in Saudi Arabia, with the race worth $20m and the winning horse banking $10m of that, which equates to around £8.33m – wow!
Staying in the Middle East, it’s the Dubai World Cup that sits second in the ‘richest horse races in the world‘ league table with a total purse of $12m, with the Melbourne Cup (10th) carrying and the Prix de ‘Arc de Triomphe (11th), the richest flat race in Europe, both carrying $5m.
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