Sky Bet Sunday Series returns for sixth year

The Sky Bet Sunday Series is returning for a sixth year and welcomes a new charity partner in Young Lives vs Cancer.

The ever-popular Series is a strategic collaboration between Flutter, RMG, ITV, HorsePWR and the host racecourses and has now delivered nearly £5m in additional prizemoney since its launch in 2021.

The series will span five fixtures at Musselburgh (12th April), Ayr (26th April), Hamilton Park (17th May), Thirsk (31st May), and Pontefract (16th August). Fans can follow the coverage on ITV and Racing TV.

As always, there will be a host of prizes on offer, including £100,000 to the connections of the first horse to win three races across the Series.

The bonus was won last year by Spring Is Sprung, whose trainer Paul Midgley said: “It was a huge thrill for Spring Is Sprung to win the £100,000 Sky Bet Sunday Series bonus, and wonderful for owner John Blackburn. The series offers excellent prizemoney and bonuses across and is pitched at a certain grade of horse, who otherwise wouldn’t be in a position to win their owners this level of prizemoney.

“There are very generous incentives for the participants, especially stable staff and jockeys, and we’ll definitely be considering another crack at it this year. Huge thanks to Sky Bet, Racecourse Media Group and ITV for supporting the series.”

The Series is being run in association with HorsePWR, British racing’s hub dedicated to the Thoroughbred racehorse, and will be supporting Young Lives vs Cancer – the only charity in the UK with specialist social workers who provide tailored support to children and young people with cancer, and their families. 

Rachel Kirby-Rider, Chief Executive at Young Lives vs Cancer, said: “We are so pleased Young Lives vs Cancer has been chosen as part of this year’s Sky Bet Sunday Series. We rely on generous donations to support children and young people with cancer and their families. The money raised will help fund our specialist social workers who provide day to day support and our Homes from Home across the UK, which offer a free place to stay nearby the hospital.”

Gabi Whitfield, Head of Welfare Communications, Great British Racing said: “It’s so important for British racing to be sharing the work it does to ensure world-class welfare standards for its horses both on and off the racecourse. The Sky Bet Sunday Series partnership gives the sport’s HorsePWR campaign a national TV platform, and access to a fantastic broadcast team, to help bring these stories and facts to life.” 

Jockeys and their agents will no doubt again be targeting the Series, and the inaugural Jockeys’ Cup and a £25,000 first prize for the jockey who picks up most points across the Series, with £5,000 on offer for second, and £3,000 for third.

Stable Staff will have the opportunity to win cash prizes, with a total of £15,000 (£10k, £3k, £2k) to be paid out to the stable staff of the first three trainers in the Series. In addition, Sky Bet will once again kindly sponsor and offer £250 for the Best Turned Out in each race.

Michael Shinners, Sky Bet Head of Sports PR, said: “We’re delighted to be once again sponsoring the Sunday Series. It’s a great opportunity for some of the smaller yards to be racing on terrestrial TV, for excellent prize money. We’re keen to recognise the stable staff and the work they put in and hopefully that is reflected in the Best Turned Out awards. Finally, it’s great that we can donate one of our races to Young Lives vs Cancer who are Sky Bet’s chosen charity this year”.