The British Champions Series is a series of 35 top British flat races, which culminates in a day-long festival of championship races, known as British Champions Day. It was inaugurated in the 2011 season to draw together some of Britain's key flat races into a meaningful championship, with the hope of generating coverage and stimulating interest among the more casual sports fan.[1] It was believed to have achieved its aims based on an increase of 7% attendance at the race days that were part of the 2011 series, as opposed to a 3.9% increase in attendances across the season's race programme as a whole.[2]
The championships have been sponsored by the Qatari investment group QIPCO since its inception in 2011. In June 2015 QIPCO renewed their sponsorship until at least 2024 in a deal worth more than £50m, the biggest sponsorship deal ever for British horse racing.[3]
The series is split into five divisions - Sprint, Mile, Middle Distance, Long Distance and Fillies & Mares. This series includes all Group One races in Great Britain, except those limited to two year old horses.