Jockeys enter the parade ring at Ascot.

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Ascot stages the perfect lead-up to the festive break with the Christmas Racing Weekend on Friday December 22 and Saturday December 23.

The Saturday card offers at total of £420,000 in prize money to make it Ascot’s most valuable national hunt card of the season.

Feature races are the Grade 3 £150,000 Racing Welfare Handicap Hurdle, the Grade 1 £100,000 JLT Reve De Sivola Long Walk Hurdle and Grade 3 £100,000 Lavazza Silver Cup.

The richest race on the card, the Racing Welfare Handicap has been named in recognition of the efforts of jockeys and stable staff. Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and communications, is pleased to be continuing the racecourse’s policy of supporting these groups.

“Having recently announced that £20,000 has been raised through our IJF initiative which provides past and present jockeys to educate and entertain in hospitality areas, running our feature £150,000 handicap as the Racing Welfare Handicap Hurdle further supplements our policy to support important racing charities,” Smith said.

“It is also tremendous news that JLT’s support of the JLT Long Walk, which this year commemorates race legend Reve De Sivola, has been expanded to run a further three years.”

Dawn Goodfellow, chief executive of Racing Welfare, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Ascot Racecourse during the Christmas Racing Weekend to help raise the profile of Racing Welfare.

“The charity plays a vital role in supporting the thousands of stud, stable and racecourse staff who are working behind-the-scenes all year, including over the festive period.”

Reve De Sivola, whose name is carried in this year’s Long Walk Hurdle, ran in the race for five consecutive years from 2012 to 2016, winning in 2012, 2013 and 2014.