World Pool returns to the UK and Ireland on Saturday, with 2000 Guineas Day from Newmarket on Saturday 3 May, a fixture which also marks the start of the World Pool Jockeys’ Championship for a second year.

Points will be awarded based on the World Pool odds to the winning riders of all UK and Irish World Pool races across the season, beginning on 2000 Guineas Day and ending on British Champions Day at Ascot on 18 October.

Last year Billy Loughnane won the inaugural edition of the World Pool Jockeys’ Championship, finishing with 187.50 points, over 90 points clear of second-placed Oisin Murphy. This victory was significantly helped by his winning ride on Rashabar in the Coventry stakes at Royal Ascot, which returned at 129.90 with World Pool. Loughnane chose to give the £50,000 prize to The Christy Lambe Foundation, which helps to support community-driven mental health action.

This season sees a new fixture and more races added to the World Pool fixture calendar. All races on this season’s Lockinge Stakes Day (17 May) card from Newbury will be hosted as World Pool, while the first Irish World Pool fixture of 2025 will be a new one with Irish 2000 Guineas Day (24 May) from the Curragh set to be globally pooled for the first time.

The G1 Irish 2000 Guineas has been featured in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Top 100 Group 1 races for the past two years, and World Pool’s continued aim is to showcase as many of these prestigious races as possible to its global customers.

Following Irish 2000 Guineas Day, World Pool will also be in operation on the following day from the Curragh for part of Tattersalls Gold Cup Day before heading back to the UK for Derby Stakes Day from Epsom on 7 June.

This year’s Royal Ascot will mark six years since World Pool’s inauguration at the Royal Meeting in 2019 and once again all 35 races across the five days will be part of World Pool.

World-leading jockey Ryan Moore has been signed as a World Pool ambassador for 2025 and will provide insight into his rides on World Pool racedays as well as some of the biggest topics in racing.

Last year, Moore’s victory aboard the Aidan O’Brien-trained City Of Troy in the Derby was named as a World Pool Moment of the Day, with groom David Hickey winning the £4,000 prize.

The victory was then shortlisted and ultimately chosen as the World Pool Moment of the Year, with Hickey enjoying a VIP trip to Hong Kong later this year.

All UK and Irish World Pool days featuring six or more races will see a Moment of the Day chosen and the winning groom receive a cheque for £4,000/€4,500.

Since 2019, World Pool has contributed over £50 million to British and Irish racecourses which will continue to grow through 2025. The 2024 season saw total turnover rise to HK$4.6bn (approx. £455m).

Sam Nati, Head of Commingling at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “The British and Irish Flat season provides some of the finest racing action around the world, with the Classics on both sides of the Irish Sea steeped in history and Royal Ascot the jewel in the crown for our overseas customers with World Pool in action for all five days.

“Once again, we have strengthened our offering for the 2025 UK and Irish season, with new World Pool races added on Lockinge Day and the Irish 2000 Guineas debuting as a World Pool day, while we’re sure racing fans all over the world will be keen to hear the thoughts of our ambassador Ryan Moore ahead of some of the biggest fixtures in global racing.

“We’re also delighted to be welcoming back the World Pool Jockeys’ Championship for a second year and look forward to again crowning the leading rider on British Champions Day at Ascot in October.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “It’s enormously exciting to be in the early stages of what we hope will be another compelling flat season of top-class racing in the UK and Ireland. With so many of our best days now an established part of the World Pool calendar, everyone at the Tote is looking forward to collaborating with our UK and international partners to showcase the value of World Pool to racing fans while maximising the benefits it can bring to the sport.”

Nick Mills, Chief Executive Officer of Racecourse Media Group (RMG), which represents the media interests of The Jockey Club, Goodwood, and York Racecourses, said: “The return of the World Pool schedule to the UK and Ireland from Saturday signals an exciting period for RMG and our racecourses – and we look forward to working in tandem with HKJC and UKTG in further growing revenues and global interest in the sport."

Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of the Curragh Racecourse, said: “The Curragh very much values our relationship with World Pool which started with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby in 2023 and has developed since then. This year for the first time the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas meeting on May 24th will be a World Pool event and we look forward to an excellent day’s racing. The World Pool focusses on the best races in in the world and this year we are delighted that four Curragh dates will be included.”

For the full World Pool fixtures up to June 2025, please visit here.