Kickoff of All Weather Championships 25/26: What to Expect

The All Weather Championships (AWC) kicks off with its thirteenth season at Newcastle on Tuesday 21st October, providing fans of flat racing with competitive racing on synthetic surfaces for just over the next five months, with the Championships culminating once again at Newcastle’s Finals day and Lingfield’s Plate meeting on Good Friday (3rd April). With the turf season yet to finish, the start may be a little overshadowed, but there will be plenty of good action to look forward to.

The Championships, as has become familiar, will be split across six divisions with participants on Finals Day needing to have run a minimum of three times on the all weather, which could include in France and/or America, or twice on the all weather and once on dirt in Meydan or Saudi Arabia. On top of the minimum three runs, horses also need to be rated sufficiently high enough to make the cut in one of the six handicaps. The divisions are as follows:

AW Three Year Old Championships – 6 Furlongs (3yo) MAX: 14
AW Sprint – 6 Furlongs (4yo+) MAX: 14
AW Championships Mile – 1 Mile 5 Yards (4yo+) MAX: 14
AW Championships Marathon – 2 Miles 56 Yards (4yo+) MAX: 20
AW Fillies’ and Mares Championships – 7 Furlongs 14 Yards (4yo+) MAX: 14
AW Easter Classic Middle Distance – 1 Mile 2 Furlongs 42 Yards (4yo+) MAX: 14

Over the course of these Championships there will be two “Trials Days” with Newcastle holding the first of these on 16th January 2026 and Lingfield hosting the second on 27th February 2026.

As well as Newcastle and Lingfield, racing will also be staged at Chelmsford, Kempton, Southwell, and Wolverhampton in the UK. That said, come Finals day it can be worth keeping a close eye on racing at Dundalk in Ireland, and Deauville, Chantilly and Cagnes-sur-Mer in France too. Further afield, Meydan will host it’s Racing Carnival which kicks of on 7th November, culminating in the Dubai World Cup meeting on 28th March. More information about these courses can be found here!

Throughout the winter, the focus won’t just be on the horses. There will also be fierce competition for the honour of being Champion Owner, Champion Trainer, Champion Jockey, and Champion Apprentice Jockey. Trainer Michael Appleby will be looking to regain the Champion Trainer title after Tony Carroll ended his seven year stranglehold in season 12. Both Carroll and Appleby will be trainers to keep on side during the winter. In terms of Champion Owner, Godolphin won this title for the 11th consecutive time last season and it will take something spectacular to prise that from them come April. In regards to the Champion Jockey and Apprentice titles, they will be a little more open depending on where jockeys decide to spend their winters but it will likely take shape after the first few months.

Looking at Tuesday, the opening race of the Championships is a Class 2 (0-105) Handicap for horses aged 3yo+ worth £25,000, taking place over a trip of 1m 4f 98yds. Interestingly, three-year-old’s have won the last two renewals of this race, with Blanchland (2023) and Dramatic Star (2024) the only ones representing the age group in their respective years. This year a maximum field of five will line up headed by the 101-rated Maxi King. Two three-year-old’s line up, with Warrant Holder (John & Thady Gosden) and Cape Breton (Ralph Beckett) looking to make it three from three for the age group.

AW Fixtures for next 7 Days:
Tuesday 21st October: Newcastle (AW)
Wednesday 22nd October: Kempton (AW)
Thursday 23rd October: Chelmsford (AW) & Southwell (AW)
Friday 24th October: Southwell (AW)
Saturday 25th October: Wolverhampton (AW)
Sunday 26th October: NONE