British offer $8 million bonus

The British Horseracing Board has introduced a world-record 5-million-pound ($8 million) bonus to a horse who wins four selected races in England this summer.

A 1-million-pound ($1.6 million) bonus will go to any horse who wins either the Epsom Derby for 3-year-olds, the English Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, the Coronation Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, or the Prince of Wales's Stakes at 1 1/4 miles for 4-year-olds and up, and then goes on to win both the 1 1/4-mile Eclipse Stakes and the 1 1/2-mile King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes.

If a horse should win the three races in what the racing board calls its Summer Triple Crown, he would then qualify for the 5-million-pound "Grand Slam" bonus for winning the 1 1/4-mile 85-yard Juddmonte International Stakes.

If no horse wins either of the bonuses, a prize of 250,000 pounds ($400,000) will be awarded to the horse with the best overall record in the series. Nine horses would have earned the 1-million-pound bonus in the past: Opera House, Nashwan, Mtoto, Ela-Mana-Mou, Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef, Royal Palace, Ballymoss, and Tulyar. No horse has ever won what now constitutes the four-race "Grand Slam."