Longines Unveils ‘Best Race’ Award

At the conference of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities Monday, Longines and the IFHA announced the extension of their partnership to 2023–the contract was originally to 2018–and also announced a new award, the Longines World’s Best Horse Race award, which will be presented in London in January along with the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Award.

“Every racing organizer is trying to attract the best field of national and international horses,” said IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet. “So this will be the supreme award, as it takes into account the average ratings of the first four horses for the last three years. To win the first Longines World’s Best Horse Race award, the race will need to qualify and be consistent over the period of 2013 to 2015.”

Romanet noted that given that criteria, the World’s Best Horse Race in recent years would have been the G1 Champion S. from 2011 to 2013 and the G1 Juddmonte International from 2012 to 2014.

“As the impact of Frankel on the 2012 rating of these two races will disappear for the period of 2013 to 2015, as well as the low rating of the 2012 Arc de Triomphe, it will be very interesting to see which race will receive the first Longines World’s Best Horse Race award.”

Longines’ Juan-Carlos Capelli also announced that Longines would make the first donation to a fund created by the IFHA and the FEI, through the International Horse Sports Confederation, to support horse welfare.