York Racecourse is delighted that its flagship race, the Group 1 Juddmonte International, has been confirmed as the best race in the world following the announcement by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

The Juddmonte International is York’s flagship race and the feature of the opening day of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival and has been ranked number one of all thoroughbred horse races across the globe, ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Breeders’ Cup Classic and Japan Cup.

To earn this world number one status, the official performance ratings - allocated by the International Panel of Thoroughbred Handicappers of the first four horses past the Knavesmire winning post over the last three seasons - were assessed to give ratings second to none.  This concluded that star horses such as Australia, The Grey Gatsby, Declaration of War and the mighty Frankel, combined to provide the strongest race on the planet.

British racing has once again made a strong showing in the wider rankings, with eight of the top 16 being staged on the UK’s tracks, all of which form part of British Champions Series, with the QIPCO Champion Stakes remaining in the top three.

The Juddmonte International has benefited from consistent investment and support by long-standing sponsor, Juddmonte Farms and owner, HH Prince Khalid Abdullah.  Prize money has increased each year in the last decade and is now almost double in size, and the 2015 renewal offers record prize money of £850,000 on Wednesday 19 August.  This will be the richest race ever staged at York.

Lord Grimthorpe, who is able to offer a unique perspective on the race, as both York Racecourse Chairman and Racing Manager for Juddmonte Farms, said, “York is particularly grateful to Prince Khalid whose long-term support of the race has seen wins for both Twice Over and Frankel.  I am delighted that the ratings have now confirmed what we felt at the time - that it is the best race in the world.”
 
Douglas Erskine Crum, Chief Executive of Juddmonte Group, said, “This is wonderful news for both York and Juddmonte.  This is a race that Prince Khalid has sponsored for over 26 years and it is a great tribute to his support and to York Racecourse that it has firmly established itself at the very top of world racing.”

The winning trainer of the race for the last two years was Aidan O’Brien, who masterminded the triumphs of Declaration of War and Australia.  Speaking from his Ballydoyle base, Aidan said “It’s a race we love to win and we have been fortunate enough to do so with five great horses; looking at some of the placed horses that we have had in, we are not surprised that it came out on top.”

Though the race still awaits its first locally trained winner, Kevin Ryan, who sent out The Grey Gatsby from his Hambleton base to record a strong second place in 2015, said, “It is great news that the Juddmonte International has been rated the best race in the world.  York is a track we love to have winners at and we hope The Grey Gatsby will be able to go one better this year.  He’s wintered really well and it would be very special to win the Juddmonte International in 2015, especially so close to home.”

Speaking about what it means for a County that recognises what sport can do for the tourism industry, Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the headline sponsor of the Ebor Festival confirmed, “Hosting world-class sport means people hear about you and gives them yet another reason to visit our beautiful County.  Yorkshire keeps winning global accolades and I am delighted for everyone at York Racecourse that they have earned another such prize.”

The Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority, Nick Rust, said; "That a British race should again top the world rankings is very encouraging and a further reminder of the strength and quality of racing staged here. Our congratulations to York on this achievement. Britain's position as the country responsible for the best racing in the world should never be taken for granted, but it is a fantastic endorsement for what we have to offer that eight of the top 16 races in the world are run on these shores. All of these races form part of the QIPCO British Champions Series and no country has more races in the top ten than Britain.”

Summing up the achievement, William Derby, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course said, “This is a fantastic endorsement of the quality of racing at York.  For the Juddmonte International, our flagship race, to be officially ranked number one of every race run around the world is a tremendous tribute to everyone associated with York Racecourse and Juddmonte Farms.  We remain hugely grateful and appreciative of the support we receive from so many individuals and organisations in helping stage top quality racing at York.  Having staged the number one race in the world is a huge accolade for York, Yorkshire and British racing and we are determined to keep building on this award and to keep delivering fantastic racing action, facilities and experience at York into the future.”