Horseracing hopes to revive interest in the Derby, 2,000 Guineas and other elite events by borrowing ideas from golf and tennis and offering a £2m ($4m) prize for the champion horse of the Flat-racing season.

The prize is part of a £10m pot – double the amount currently offered – that Ascot, Epsom, Newmarket and other leading courses will put up for 10 of the season’s leading Flat races, known as Group 1 races.