The seven team managers for this year’s Racing League were announced on Tuesday just days ahead of the jockey draft, which is set for Saturday, Apr. 1 at Doncaster.
Frankie Dettori was added to the roster of seven managers attempting to win this year’s competition and leads a strong East team which will be one of the favourites to wrestle the title from last year’s winners, Jamie Osborne’s Wales & The West.
“Racing League brings something different into racing and I’ve really enjoyed being part of it for the last two years,” Dettori said. “The format adds a fun element while still being ultra-competitive. I will be doing everything I can to be the first player-manager to win it.”
Over £2m in prize-money will be up for grabs, with an additional £50,000 for the winning team, a £35,000 prize pool for the winning team’s jockeys and £20,000 to the jockey who scores the most individual points over the competition. Among the 108 riders to have signed up for the draft are last year’s leading jockeys Saffie Osborne and Sean Levey, with Oisin Murphy a noteworthy addition. Each team manager will select seven jockeys via the draft and may add a wildcard selection at any time during the competition.
A total of 135 yards have registered to compete, up from 125 in 2022. Among those set to have their first Racing League runners this year are Sir Michael Stoute, joining Frankie’s ranks in The East; Michael & David Easterby extending their family ties in Yorkshire and Hughie Morrison adding strength to Scotland.
The seven team managers are:
• Ireland–Kevin Blake
• London & The South–Matt Chapman
• Scotland–Linda Perratt
• The East–Frankie Dettori
• The North–Mick Quinn
• Wales & The West–Jamie Osborne
• Yorkshire–Leonna Mayor
Racing League kicks at Yarmouth on July 27 and continues at Chepstow, Windsor, Newcastle and Wolverhampton before concluding at Southwell on Sept. 13. All six fixtures will be shown live on ITV Racing and Sky Sports Racing.
The complete list of team trainers can be found here.
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