News

Wednesday, December 23, 2015Contact: Andrew Chesser
+1-859-224-2741
London to host the 2015 Longines World’s Best Racehorse and Longines World’s Best Horse Race Ceremony

Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) have announced that the 2015 Longines World’s Best Racehorse and Longines World’s Best Horse Race Ceremony will be held on 19 January 2016 in London, England, once again at the iconic hotel Claridge’s.

The ceremony will honour the top highest rated horses in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings as well as the Longines World’s Best Horse Race. This is the third Longines World’s Best Racehorse Ceremony, and it marks the first time the Longines World’s Best Horse Race will be celebrated.

The Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in top races. Just A Way (JPN) was honoured as the world’s highest rated racehorse for 2014, following Black Caviar (AUS) and Treve (FR), who tied in 2013. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are available on the IFHA website http://www.ifhaonline.org.

The trophy of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse is a crystal vase named Equus. Every year, it is engraved with the name of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse and the representative of the winner is presented with an elegant Longines watch.

The creation of the Longines World’s Best Horse Race Award was announced in October during the International Conference of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. It will recognize the best-rated race of the highest-rated Group 1 international races as established for the year by a panel of international handicappers. The ratings of the top four finishers in each race over the past three years serve as basis for the assessment.


About Longines

Passionate about horse racing since 1878, Longines is proud to be the Official Partner and Official Watch of IFHA, and to lend its name to the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The long-term partnership between Longines and the IFHA has seen the establishment of a prestigious set of awards aimed to honour the excellence of horseracing. The Longines World’s Best Racehorse Award, the Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit, and the Longines World’s Best Jockey Award respectively pay tribute to the racehorses, personalities, and jockeys who excel at the highest level of the sport.

Longines has been based at Saint-Imier in Switzerland since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. Longines has generations of experience as official timekeeper of world championships and as partner of international sports federation. Known for the elegance of its timepieces, Longines is a member of the Swatch Group Ltd, the World’s leading manufacturer of horological products. With the winged hourglass as its emblem, the brand has outlets in over 150 countries.

For further information please contact:
Longines International Public Relations
2610 Saint-Imier, Switzerland
publicrelations@longines.com
www.longines.com  

About IFHA

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) is the world peak body for the international sport of Thoroughbred racing. Its members are the national racing authorities across the globe which stage Thoroughbred races.

Major areas of the IFHA’s activities include:

• Making and amending the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering (the IABRW)
• Policy development relating to welfare and safety of horses and riders
• International Race Planning and Grading (“black type”)
• World Rankings
• Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices
• Harmonization of Race Day Rules
• Fostering commercial development of the racing industry globally


The IFHA is a foundation member with Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) of the International Horse Sports Confederation and is affiliated to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
 
For further details, please contact:
 
Andrew Chesser
Secretary General, International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA)
Telephone +1 859 224 2741
Email achesser@jockeyclub.com