William Hill Backs Grassroots Irish Racing With Each Way Extra Challenge Series

The new Each Way Extra Challenge Series, which begins at Gowran Park on October 3, will be sponsored by William Hill. The seven-month series runs until April of next year and is spread across 50 races at 28 meetings and 13 Irish racecourses.

The William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series will allocate points per race to trainers and jockeys on a first to seventh place finishing basis (10,6,5,4,3,2,1) with an overall table to decide the prize winners at the final fixture on April 24, 2026. The winning trainer will receive €50,000, and the winning rider and stable staff will receive €10,000 respectively. All trainers can compete in the series races, but the bonus point element is only open to trainers with 50 or fewer winners in either of the last two seasons in either code. Any rider who rides for a qualifying trainer will have bonus points allocated, while riders who ride for ineligible trainers will not receive series points for those rides only.

Stable staff from all yards will qualify for the bonus element, including staff of trainers who are ineligible. A €100 best-turned-out award will be given to the stable staff for each race in the series. Supported by key industry stakeholders the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA), Irish Stable Staff Association (ISSA) & IJA (Irish Jockeys Association), the William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series aims to incentivise the grassroots of Irish racing and demonstrate the leading bookmaker's commitment to the sport at every level.

William Hill's director of horse racing, Sandro Di Michele, said, “We're thrilled to launch the new William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series. This initiative runs through the real backbone of the Irish National Hunt season and should have a positive impact on the grassroots of the sport.”