Newbury Racecourse today announced George Hill has been appointed as its new Clerk of the Course, succeeding Keith Ottesen who leaves the role following the conclusion of the Dubai Duty Free International Meeting on September 22-23, 2023.

Hill, current Clerk of the Course for Arena Racing Company’s (ARC) Southern Region and at Lingfield Racecourse, has previously been Clerk at both Brighton and Fontwell Racecourses. With multiple years of experience in the bloodstock industry before starting as trainee Clerk of the Course at Brighton Racecourse in 2015, Hill holds a wealth of knowledge of the bloodstock and racing industries and has been with ARC for ten years.

Hill played an instrumental role in the introduction of the Winter Million fixture at Lingfield Park. The new concept which launched in 2022 offering a million pounds in prize money across three days of competitive Flat and Jump racing.

George Hill commented: “I am delighted to be joining Newbury Racecourse ahead of the forthcoming National Hunt season. Newbury is one of the country’s premier racecourses across both codes with the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle and the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Arena Racing Company however I am excited to be starting a new chapter at a leading independent racecourse and the new challenges this presents.”

Julian Thick, CEO of Newbury Racecourse, added: “We are delighted that George will be joining us; he has a wealth of experience across both codes and has shown great innovation in the new concepts he has introduced in his current role. We are looking forward to working with him at Newbury and identifying areas where he sees scope for further development and new initiatives. Having increased total prize money to a record £6.06 million, with the largest ever executive contribution of £3.1 million, we are committed to maintain our position as a leading racecourse and we are excited to have George joining the team.’’

Newbury announced a 16% increase in prize money to be distributed throughout the 2023 flat and jumps season with total prize money on offer amounting to a record £6.06 million.

The highlight of Newbury’s Flat racing programme is the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes, this year won by Modern Games, with the Group One race run over a mile, worth £350,000. Newbury’s high-quality Jump racing programme includes the Coral Gold Cup Meeting, featuring the £250,000 Coral Gold Cup, a handicap chase over an extended three and a quarter mile, which takes place on December 1-2, 2023.