The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has announced several changes to the race programme in recent months to help strengthen British racing and breeding.

These have been developed as part of wider efforts to make sure British racing is high-quality, competitive and engaging, and that we remain an attractive prospect for horses of all levels to be based and raced.

An area of immediate focus is giving horses sufficient opportunities early in their career, so that they gain crucial experience to help fulfil their potential, and investing in much improved prize money for developmental races.

This work will inevitably take time and patience, but with this year’s Jump season well underway, here are some of the changes for the months ahead.

The changes are only possible thanks to additional funding from the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) – with an extra £4.4m in 2026 as part of a wider £77.1m funding package – as well as financial support from key sponsors and partners.

For any questions, please contact the BHA’s racing department on 0207 152 0050 or via [email protected].

———–

Developmental races – increasing values & opportunities

Novice and maiden races over Jumps and on the Flat make up around 20% of the race programme and are where most horses begin their careers and gain crucial early experience.

These races play an essential role, not only in nurturing future talent on the racecourse, but in supporting and strengthening the domestic breeding market.

Given the importance of these races, they will be run for increased and more internationally competitive prize money values in 2026 – with a £3.2m boost across the developmental programme.

More information about the enhanced prize money values for development races can be found here.

Enhanced values for hurdle developmental races

An additional £1.1m in prize money will be invested in this area of the programme, with Jump weight-for-age Novice, Maiden and Juvenile hurdles to be run for increased minimum values.

No novice or maiden hurdles will be run for less than £10k in 2026, with Class 2 contests to be worth a minimum of £20k and Class 3 races at least £15k.

This extra investment is an important part of our broader approach in targeting areas of the race programme where prize money has historically not kept pace with other jurisdictions. Our aim is to make Britain an increasingly more attractive prospect for owners to have a horse in training.

Chasing Excellence initiative

Over fences, an increased number of weight-for-age Novices’ Steeple Chases have been programmed for 2025/26 with the aim of supporting the development of higher-quality chasers.

The new Chasing Excellence series started in October and sees more Class 2 and 3 Beginners’ Chases and Novices’ Chases replacing a significant number of Class 3 Novices’ Limited Handicap Chases.

These races are being run for a minimum of £12k in 2025, with Class 3 contests rising to at least £15k in 2026 and Class 2s increased to £20k.

These changes follow feedback from trainers about the need to give our Novice Chasers additional opportunities to develop their jumping technique in a more suitable environment.

It is likely that some of these races will have smaller fields in the short term, but the aim is to nurture our potentially talented horses and support their progression into higher-class company later in the season.

More information about the Chasing Excellence initiative can be viewed here.

2026 Flat developmental programme

On the Flat, minimum values will be increased in 2026, with all Open novice and maiden races run for at least £10k (12k for stayers) and Restricted novice and maiden races run for a minimum of £8k (10k for stayers).

The additional prize money for staying races (two-year-olds at 7f+ and three-year-olds at 10f+) provides an added incentive for owners to invest in horses that are likely to require more time to fulfil their potential and, in doing so, helps keep a diverse range of horses in training.

The bandings applied to two-year-olds of 2026 in Restricted races have been slightly increased in light of the strength of the yearling market in 2025 and following a review of the results of these races staged this year. The revised bandings are available here.

GB Pointing Bonus Series

A new Point-to-Point bonus series gets underway on 9 November, with the aim of strengthening the sphere as a key pipeline and developing ground for quality horses progressing to race under Rules.

The GB Pointing Bonus Young Horse Maiden Series features 15 races for four and five-year olds and is supported by an investment of £250k. Each winner becomes eligible for a GB Pointing Bonus in qualifying races under Rules.

The bonus, which totals £25k for a British-bred horse or £15k for a horse with any other suffix, will be paid to the owners of the horse at the time it wins its eligible race under Rules, as long as the horse is trained in Britain at the time of winning.

The scheme is administered by the BHA and Point-to-Point Authority, with funding from the HBLB and race sponsorship from Tattersalls and Goffs.

More information about the GB Pointing Bonus Series, including the full schedule of races to be staged on point-to-point courses during the 2025/26 season, is available here.

Improvements to Junior National Hunt Hurdles

These races were first introduced in October 2022 and are designed to give younger horses the chance to start their career over hurdles at an earlier stage.

It is understood that campaigning horses in these races often requires a change of approach, so the success of the programme is not expected to be instantaneous.

A longer-term view is being applied to these races and therefore a commitment has been made to extending the programme for another three years. This aims to provide extra stability and confidence for connections in planning their campaigns.

Following feedback, refinements have been made to meet the needs of participants and help grow the success of the programme:

– This year’s programme will start in November – a little later than previous seasons, giving trainers more time to develop horses at home

– A penalty for a win in a Junior National Hunt Hurdle will not be carried into other race types in the future, except in other Junior National Hunt Hurdles and Class 1 races

– Non-winners will be permitted to drop back to Junior National Hunt Flat races during the same season.

Full details of the adjustments to the Junior National Hunt Hurdles programme are available here.

Requirements for Grade 1 Novices’ and Juvenile hurdles

Horses are now only eligible to run in Grade 1 Novices’ and Juvenile Hurdle races if they have been allocated a minimum rating of 110.

This can be achieved through a published handicap mark or if they have been assessed by the BHA handicapper to have raced to that level in at least one hurdle run.

The change – which brings these races into line with other Grade 1 contests – aims to ensure that horses competing in our showpiece events have gained early experience and demonstrated a suitable level of ability over hurdles.

Full details of the new requirements can be found here.

Strengthening the Go North Series

The Go North Series continues to prove a popular initiative offering meaningful targets for connections and a spectacle of Jump racing in the North.

In 2026, the Series Finals will be run for increased values, with each race worth at least £40k – up from £30k in 2025. This will rise to £45k per final in 2027 and £50k by 2028.

We have also published several changes to the programme for 2025/26, with the aim of enhancing the performance of the series and attracting a higher number of Northern-based runners.

Full details of these changes and the programme of Go North Series finals can be viewed here.

Extension of Elite Mares’ Scheme

The Elite NH Mares Scheme will be boosted in 2026 with an additional £200k to increase grants for mares and widen access to mid-to-upper-tier-priced British National Hunt stallions, potentially increasing the quality of their progeny.

The scheme rewards owners of mares proven on the racecourse or at stud with subsidised or fee nominations to eligible British-based National Hunt stallions.

Alongside wider improvements to the mares’ race programme, the scheme has helped contribute to a marked increase in the number of elite Jump broodmares in Britain – doubling from 150 a decade ago to 300 at present.

Run by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) and funded by the Levy Board, the list of awards of 2025, eligible stallions and award criteria are available here.