HORSE Racing Ireland has no plans at the moment to change the entry fee structure or prize money for either the Irish Derby or Irish Champion Stakes following significant changes announced this week to the conditions of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

The Ascot race takes place almost a month after the Irish Derby. Open to older horses as well as three-year-olds, the King George will be worth £1.5 million (€1.79 million) this year and all runners will have their entry fees refunded in full, with the exception of supplementary entries.

It’s understood that one of the reasons Ascot made these changes is because it is important for the race to have at least eight runners if it is part of the lucrative World Pool series.

Last year’s Irish Derby had eight runners including four trained by Aidan O’Brien, who said at the time he was only running four because the World Pool is “very important to Irish racing.”

The Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes purses will remain at €1.25 million this year. A total of 92 three-year-olds stood their ground for the Curragh classic each week, their connections now having paid €5,000 per horse to keep them in the race.

To run in either race costs a total of €12,500, equivalent to 1% of the total prize money.

Asked if the race conditions would be reviewed following the Ascot changes, a spokesperson for Horse Racing Ireland [HRI] said: “The entry fee and early closing structures are kept under annual review and the conditions in place for the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will remain as for 2024 after a review with the Curragh racecourse and the Irish Flat Pattern Committee.”

HRI also confirmed that it will continue to offer the ‘Win and You’re In’ concession in relation to the Irish Derby. The first four home in the Irish 2000 Guineas, Prix du Jockey Club and Epsom Derby will have free entry into the Irish Derby.

The winners of 16 other major races in the first part of the season will also have their entry fees refunded if they run in the Irish Derby.

“The ‘Win And You’re In’ races form part of that review and we believe they have played an important role for the Irish Derby,” said HRI. “The list of these races has been extended over time to ensure the Irish Derby has the best possible field.”

Despite the work gone into boosting the race’s profile, the Irish Derby has arguably lost some of its prestige in recent years.

Its place in the official list of the ‘World’s Best Races’ has slipped from 94th in 2021 to 162nd last year. Later this month the 2024 list will be published and the Curragh race is expected to rank a little higher, thanks to the exploits of winner Los Angeles and runner-up Sunway.

Prize money at Royal Ascot will once again be £10 million, with no race run for less than £110,000 and all Group 1 races worth a minimum of £650,000.

In another significant change, a number of Group 2 races at the Royal meeting which were previously early-closing races will now close at the six-day stage.

All Group 3 races in Ireland close approximately six weeks beforehand.