# Big Races This Week: The Futurity Trophy Set to Decide the Trainers' Title _The week's big races from 19 to 25 October 2026: the Futurity Trophy and the trainers' title, Newbury's Flat finale, Cheltenham's opener and Aintree._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/big-races-this-week-19-october-2026/](https://stablebet.co.uk/racing-news/big-races-this-week-19-october-2026/) · last updated 2026-10-19* ## The week in brief Britain's last Group 1 of the year comes at Doncaster on Saturday. The William Hill Futurity Trophy, off at 1:30pm, is the race Andrew Balding expects to decide the British trainers' championship. Aidan O'Brien left Ascot on Champions Day £82,494 ahead of him, having started the afternoon £108,626 behind, and Balding told Racing Post: "The Futurity Trophy will be the deciding race." O'Brien had 18 of the 32 entries before Monday's confirmations, and Balding two. Saturday is the busiest day of the week by some distance. Newbury closes its Flat season with the St Simon Stakes and the Horris Hill Stakes, both Group 3s, and the Listed Radley Stakes for two-year-old fillies. Cheltenham's jumps season starts a day earlier with its two-day opening meeting, and the Friday card there holds the week's only Grade 2 hurdle, the Sharp Novices' Hurdle. Most of these races are still at the entry stage. Final fields are confirmed later in the week, so the horses named on this page are entries and some will not run. The [racecards](/racecards/) carry the declared runners once they are out, and once the week's races have been run, the [racing results](/racing-results/) page has every winner and starting price. ## Saturday: the Futurity Trophy and the trainers' title The William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes is a Group 1 over 1m on Doncaster's straight course, open to 2yo colts and fillies (geldings excluded). It is off at 1:30pm on Saturday 24 October and is live on ITV. The winner gets £155,952.50 on the Racing Post entry card (the Irish Times rounds it to £155,952). Doncaster bills it as the final Group 1 of the British Flat season, and O'Brien has won it a record 12 times, most recently with Hawk Mountain in 2025. The going on the entry card on Monday was Good to Soft, which can change before Saturday. Our [Futurity Trophy guide](/racing-news/futurity-trophy/) has the full roll of honour, the race's history under its old names and a raceday guide for Doncaster. ### Where the title stands The British trainers' championship is decided on prize money and runs to 31 December. O'Brien turned a £108,626 deficit into an £82,494 lead on Champions Day, when Balding won the Long Distance Cup with Mount Atlas but O'Brien's runners collected more across the card. Our [British Champions Day 2026 review](/racing-news/british-champions-day-2026-review/) has every race from that afternoon. The winner gets £155,952.50 and O'Brien's lead is £82,494, but every place earns prize money, so where his 18 entries finish matters as much as who wins. If one of his wins, his lead grows by the winner's prize, less anything Balding's pair pick up in the places. The Irish Times said on 19 October that O'Brien is unlikely to run in Britain again after the Futurity, though minor all-weather races could come into it. ### O'Brien's 18 entries Noble Exhibit, the Beresford Stakes winner, is described by both Racing Post and the Irish Times as his main hope. The others named in the reports include Haffner, who won the Royal Lodge, Drumbeat, Giant Sequoia and the Dewhurst winner Darkness Falls. Wall Street and Capability Brown both won Group 3s at Leopardstown on Saturday 17 October, between them taking the Eyrefield and the Killavullan. ### Balding's two Balding has Royal Quest, who won a maiden at Newmarket, and Gran Dia, who won on debut at Salisbury. ### The rest of the entries Charlie Appleby has Al Hudaiba and First Law, and Jim Bolger has Dawnmore. The declared field follows later in the week on the [Doncaster racecard](/racecards/doncaster/). ## Saturday elsewhere: Newbury's Flat finale and Cheltenham's Showcase ### Newbury: the Flat finale Saturday is Newbury's last Flat fixture of the year, the second day of its BetVictor Flat Finale with Oktoberfest, and it carries three black-type races. - 2:35pm, St Simon Stakes: a Group 3 over 1m 4f for three-year-olds and up. - 3:10pm, Horris Hill Stakes: a Group 3 over 7f for two-year-old colts and geldings. Eve Johnson Houghton named it as the target for Flying Pirate in September, telling Sporting Life: "We're going to drop back to seven furlongs for the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes." - 3:45pm, Radley Stakes: a Listed race over 7f for two-year-old fillies, run this year under the D&H Racing Stakes title. The [Newbury course guide](/uk-racecourses/newbury/newbury-complete-guide/) covers the track itself, and the runners will be on the [Newbury racecard](/racecards/newbury/) once declared. ### Cheltenham's Showcase, day two Cheltenham's opening meeting of the 2026/27 jumps season runs on Friday and Saturday. There is no graded race on the Saturday card, which runs from 1:10pm to 4:40pm. The declared runners for both days will be on the [Cheltenham racecard](/racecards/cheltenham/), once they are confirmed. ## Through the week ### Monday 19 October [Pontefract](/uk-racecourses/pontefract/pontefract-complete-guide/) has the day's only black type: the British Stallion Studs EBF Silver Tankard Stakes, a Listed race for two-year-olds over 1m 6y at 2:53pm, on Soft ground. The same card has the Phil Bull Trophy Handicap over 2m 2f 2y at 3:53pm. Monday is also the confirmation stage for the Futurity Trophy, when the 32 entries are cut. ### Tuesday 20 October The Staffordstown Stud Stakes at the [Curragh](/irish-racecourses/curragh/curragh-racecourse-complete-guide/), a Group 3 for two-year-old fillies over 1m at 3pm, is the only Group race in Britain or Ireland before Friday. It has 11 runners on the card, and the ground was Yielding on Monday. ### Thursday 22 October The jumps black type starts at [Carlisle](/uk-racecourses/carlisle/carlisle-complete-guide/), where the Panoramic Hurdle, a Listed race for four-year-olds and up, is off at 4:12pm. ### Friday 23 October [Cheltenham's](/uk-racecourses/cheltenham/cheltenham-racecourse-complete-guide/) jumps season opens with the first day of the William Hill Showcase. The feature is at 3pm: the Grade 2 Sharp Novices' Hurdle for four-year-olds and up over 2m½f, run this year as the Oddschecker Novices' Hurdle. It had 16 entries at the entry stage and the going was Good. The supporting races include a 0-140 handicap hurdle over 2m4f at 1:15pm with 26 entries and the "Chasing Excellence" Novices' Chase over 2m at 1:50pm. That evening the BAR 1 Betting Mercury Stakes, a Group 3 over 5f on Polytrack for two-year-olds and up, is the feature of [Mercury Stakes night at Dundalk](/irish-racecourses/dundalk/mercury-stakes-day-dundalk/), off at 7:15pm. It is worth €70,000, with €41,230 to the winner. Its 26 entries include O'Brien's Brussels, Institute and Carry The Flag, and British raiders from Kevin Ryan, George Scott, George Boughey and Ed Walker. ### Sunday 25 October [Aintree's](/uk-racecourses/aintree/aintree-racecourse-complete-guide/) William Hill Old Roan Limited Handicap Chase is a Grade 2 over 2m4f for four-year-olds and up, off at 3pm. The going on Monday was Good, with watering. The declared field will be on the [Aintree racecard](/racecards/aintree/) once it is confirmed. ## Next week The week after has the Breeders' Cup and two of the autumn's best-known chases. The [Breeders' Cup](/racing-news/breeders-cup/) is at Keeneland in Kentucky on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, and the Irish Times reports that O'Brien's Great Barrier Reef, third in the Dewhurst, is set for the Juvenile Turf. At Wetherby, the bet365 Charlie Hall Meeting runs on the same two days. The [Charlie Hall Chase](/racing-news/charlie-hall-chase/) itself, a Grade 2 worth £100,000, is on the Saturday, with the bet365 (West Yorkshire) Hurdle on the same card. Also on Saturday 31 October, Down Royal stages its Grade 1 [Champion Chase](/racing-news/down-royal-champion-chase/) over 3m at 3:15pm. Racing Post's entry card lists it this year as the BetVictor Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase, worth €160,000 with €94,240 to the winner. Gordon Elliott has four of the 10 entries: Croke Park, Jacob's Ladder, Romeo Coolio and Stellar Story. Ascot holds its first jumps card of the season the same day. ## Watching and betting ### Before you bet Most of this week's races are priced up before the final fields are known. A bet struck now on an entry carries the risk that the horse is taken out at the confirmation or declaration stage, and how that is settled depends on the bookmaker's ante-post rules, which [ante-post betting explained](/betting/bet-types/ante-post-betting/) walks through. Each-way terms are set race by race, so check the places and the fraction before you bet; our [each-way guide](/betting/bet-types/each-way/) explains how they work. The AI Lab publishes its ratings for British and Irish cards on the [today page](/ai-race-predictor/today/) on the day of racing, and [the best free bet offers](/bookmakers/best-free-bet-offers/) lists the current sign-up deals.
### Bet responsibly A big Saturday is easy to overdo. Decide on a budget for the week before Monday, keep any free bet inside it, and stop when it is spent. If gambling stops being fun, free confidential support is available from [BeGambleAware](https://www.begambleaware.org/) on 0808 8020 133. 18+.
## Frequently asked questions ### When is the Futurity Trophy 2026? The William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes is at Doncaster on Saturday 24 October 2026, off at 1:30pm and live on ITV. It is a Group 1 over 1m for two-year-olds and Britain's last Group 1 of the year. The winner gets £155,952.50. The final field is confirmed later in the week and will be on the [Doncaster racecard](/racecards/doncaster/). ### Who wins the trainers' championship if O'Brien wins the Futurity? A win would add the winner's prize, £155,952.50, to the £82,494 lead Aidan O'Brien took from Champions Day, less anything Andrew Balding's two runners earn in the places. The championship runs to 31 December, so it would not be official on Saturday night. The Irish Times said on 19 October that O'Brien is unlikely to run in Britain again after the Futurity, though minor all-weather races could come into it. ### Who has won the Futurity Trophy most often? Aidan O'Brien has won it a record 12 times, most recently with Hawk Mountain in 2025, when Ronan Whelan rode him at 18/5. Andrew Balding has won it too, with Kameko in 2019, when the race was moved to Newcastle, and Jim Bolger, who has Dawnmore among this year's entries, won it with Mac Swiney in 2020. The [Futurity Trophy guide](/racing-news/futurity-trophy/) has the full list of recent winners with their jockeys and starting prices. ### What was the Futurity Trophy called before? The race was first run in 1961 as the Timeform Gold Cup and became the Observer Gold Cup in 1965. It was the Futurity Stakes from 1976 to 1988 and the Racing Post Trophy from 1989 to 2017. It has carried William Hill's name as the William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes since 2024.