The sixth annual Longines World’s Best Racehorse and Longines World’s Best Horse Race Ceremony, which will be held on 23 January 2019, will be live streamed by Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).

For the first time, the ceremony will be held at The Landmark hotel in London, and it will begin at 14:45 GMT/9:45 EST.  The live video stream will be available at both longines.com and ifhaonline.org as well as shown on the Longines and Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Facebook pages.
 
Previous winners of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse award include Arrogate (USA) in 2017 and 2016, American Pharoah (USA) in 2015, Just A Way (JPN) in 2014, and Australia’s Black Caviar and France’s Treve, who were jointly celebrated in 2013.
 
This ceremony marks the fourth time the Longines World’s Best Horse Race will be awarded. The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe won in both 2015 and 2017, while the Breeders’ Cup Classic was named the Longines World’s Best Horse Race in 2016. This award recognizes 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 serve as basis for the assessment.

The Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in elite races. The entire final 2018 rankings will be revealed on the day of the ceremony.
 
The connections of the winning horse will be presented with an elegant Longines watch and a replica of the vase of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse. The connections of the Longines World’s Best Horse Race will also be presented with a watch and a replica of a trophy representing a proud horse head. The originals can now be seen at the Longines Boutique on Oxford Street in London.

About Longines

Passionate about the horse universe since 1869, 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 in Saint-Imier in Switzerland since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and performance. Longines has built solid and lasting ties with the world of sport over the years, with a wealth of experience as timekeeper for sports championships around the globe and a partner of numerous international sports federations. Renowned for the elegance of its timepieces, Longines is a member of Swatch Group Ltd., the world's leading watch manufacturer. Known by its winged hourglass logo, the brand is today present in over 150 different 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
•           The fight against Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices
•           Harmonization of Race Day Rules
•           Certification of IFHA Reference Labs
•           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).