Martin Cruddace, the ARC Chief Executive, commented: “For the first time in five years, the weather has not been kind to us on Good Friday, but that has not stopped the top-class racing action and a total attendance of over 17,500 at Lingfield Park, Newcastle and Bath Racecourses.
“Here at Lingfield Park, we are delighted to have welcomed horses and connections from France and Ireland, as well as Great Britain, highlighting the excellent profile the All-Weather Championships is gathering on the international stage.
“Congratulations to all three French winners, Funny Kid, City Light and Lucky Team, and I would like to thank France Galop for their support and assistance throughout the All-Weather Championships season.
“We look forward to continuing to build on the success of the All-Weather Championships for Season Six in 2018-19 which will mark 30 years since the start of All-Weather racing in Great Britain.
“Today, it was especially exciting to see a new innovation on ITV Racing with timing data from Total Performance Data carried on the screen for the first time. Thank you to the ITV team for all the work they have put in to make this possible and we will continue to work with them on sectional timing, as well as with our media partners At The Races who have made significant progress in this field.
“We wish the best of luck to the winner of the £100,000 Listed 32Red Burradon Stakes at Newcastle, Gronkowski, and it is a pleasure to have worked with the team at Churchill Downs to make the race part of the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.
“While it was a difficult day at Bath, we will be providing connections whose horses did not race with a payment of £300 to help cover travel costs, as well as a ticket offer for racegoers.
“Thank you to everyone who makes Good Friday such a great raceday.”
Attendance 2018
Lingfield – 7,000
Newcastle – 5,500
Bath – 5,028
Total – 17,528