Futurity Stakes weekend 2025: Dates, how to watch on TV, trainers and jockeys to watch

Doncaster racecourse will stage another showpiece event in it’s 2025 sporting calendar, as the Futurity Trophy weekend gets underway on Friday. 

Two days of thrilling action will see 14 races, headlined by the running of the final Group One race of the season – the Futurity Trophy Stakes. 

Running on Saturday, October 25, the Weekend’s namesake race highlights a seven-race card in which a Listed race and competitive Handicap races also feature. 

Two Class Two Handicap races headline the seven-race undercard, which runs on the previous day and serves as a fitting appetiser for the main event. 

With Champions crowned and flat racing’s elite all but hibernating until next season, South Yorkshire will see potential stars of next season battle it out for supremacy – just a week on from British Champions Day. 

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When is the 2025 Futurity Trophy weekend? 

The William Hill More Top Prices Handicap raises the curtain on Doncaster’s premier weekend. 

Due off at 1:15pm, it opens the seven-race card on Friday, October 24 and precedes the running of Handicap races ranging from Class Five to Class Two – as well as two maiden races. 

Saturday, October 25, will see the final Group One race of the 2025 season take place, with the Futurity Trophy Stakes due off at 2:05pm. 

It is the second race on the card, preceded by one of the five Handicap contests running on the feature raceday and followed by a Listed race. 

Trainers to watch

Aidan O’Brien

Doncaster will likely be leading trainer Aidan O’Brien’s next port of call, before his Ballydoyle/Coolmore Stud cohort will likely jet off stateside for the Breeder’s Cup. 

He has had another season to remember, and remains in search of a record-breaking 29 Group/Grade One winners in a singular season.

The Irishman is on 22 winners for the season, but after drawing a blank in feature events at British Champions Day, the Futurity Trophy Stakes is sure to prove pivotal as to whether he will eclipse the record (28), set in 2017 – held by himself.  

Despite his Ascot woes, O’Brien is a trainer in-form, having seen 24 of his last 26 yard representatives place, eight of which were winners. 

He leads both the British and Irish Trainer Championships, the latter by a landslide, and won at Doncaster’s last elite meeting when Scandinavia claimed victory in the St Leger. 

Andrew Balding

Trailing him in the British Trainer Championship is Andrew Balding, who saw his Juddmonte-owned filly Kalpana surge to success in the British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes last weekend. 

She finally got her day in the sun after enduring a season of near misses, as she claimed back-to-back wins in the race for her trainer – who has enjoyed a memorable campaign. 

Group One wins in the Dewhurst Stakes and the City Of York Stakes highlight a season in which he has trained 184 winners and accumulated just over £7m in prize money. 

Balding is a trainer with course form at Doncaster too, boasting a 19% strike rate at the course. 

Roger Varian & more

However, it is Simon and Ed Crisford – and Roger Varian – who may be the trainers to follow this weekend. 

The former pair have trained five winners from 13 runners at Doncaster this season, whilst Varian holds a 32% course win rate from the same time frame. 

Joint father/son duo John and Thady Gosden saddled three fancied favourites at British Champions Day, though only Ascot Gold Cup winner Trawlerman finished first past the post. 

The Godolphin-owned seven-year-old stayed on powerfully to win the British Champions Long Distance Cup, whilst his two Royal Ascot winning stablemates – Field Of Gold and  Godolphin teammate Ombudsman were both beaten favourites. 

Wins in those races would have been crucial in narrowing the gap to Balding in the British Trainers Championship, which now stands at just over £200,000 – with the top three miles clear of Charlie Appleby in fourth. 

Appleby’s highlight of the season came at Newmarket’s July meeting, where his renowned partnership with Godolphin was put on display, as the pair combined to win seven races. 

It added to his British Classic race wins in both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas earlier this season. 

William Haggas, Karl Burke and Roger Varian are next in the Trainer Championship Standings, whilst the in-form Tim Easterby is another with recognised course form. 

Jockeys to watch 

Christophe Soumillon

With O’Brien’s ever-present first-choice rider Ryan Moore sidelined through injury, the Ballydoyle saddle will likely remain with Belgian Christophe Soumillon, ahead of Wayne Lordan. 

The former deputised for both the latter and Moore across the St Leger and Irish Champions Weekend, with his winning ride on Delacroix – in the Irish Champions Stakes – the highlight. 

Soumillon has since ridden O’Brien-trained winners at the Prix d’Larc De Triomphe meeting, as well as at the Dewhurst meeting and on British Champion’s Day. 

Oisin Murphy & more

However, at the top of the British Champion Jockey standings is four-time champion Oisin Murphy, as he remains in search of back-to-back title wins despite enduring a season shrouded by controversy in his personal life. 

The Irishman has ridden 143 winners this campaign and is clear of Billy Loughnane in second, who has saddled 108 winners. 

Rossa Ryan – who has seen 22 of his last 29 rides place – follows with 96, then Ciaron Fallon, Tom Marquand, William Buick and Hector Crouch are all split by just nine wins. 

Fallon has recorded 14 placed efforts from his last 16 rides, whilst Buick and Murphy both hold a 23% win rate this season. 

The latter boasts a 27% win rate at Doncaster, having ridden nine winners from 33 rides this season. 

Other jockeys that hold course form include Callum Rodriguez and P. J. McDonald – both with six winners – as well as Ryan Sexton, who holds a 31% win rate at Doncaster, this season. 

How to watch the 2025 Futurity Stakes weekend? 

ITV will screen the action live and for free, as part of their ITV Racing programme. 

Sky Sports Racing (channel 415) will broadcast their coverage of the event live for Sky Sports subscribers only. 

READ MORE: Aidan O’Brien expects jockey Ryan Moore to resume riding in 2026