Horse racing-Britain's Jockey Club makes healthy profit in 2014

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - The Jockey Club, which stages some of British horse racing's most famous events including the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, announced record financial results on Monday. The group grew its commercial operations for a sixth consecutive year to achieve record turnover of 171.2 million pounds ($255.1 million), a rise of 5.1 percent on 2013. That allowed the Jockey Club to contribute a record 19.1 million pounds in prize money in 2014, an increase of 900,000 pounds on the previous year, and invest 36.1 million pounds on new and upgraded facilities. The combined reinvestment in British racing of 55.2 million pounds last year represented a rise of 21.7 million on 2013 figures. Overall, the Jockey Club generated a profit of 21.7 million pounds in 2014, its second largest ever. "By maximising returns from our commercial operations we've been able to invest more than 400 million pounds into the sport in the last 10 years," chief executive Simon Bazalgette said in a statement. "Racing brings enjoyment to millions of people each year and is responsible for tens of thousands of jobs. We take very seriously our role as stewards of some of its most iconic events as well as our operations throughout all levels of the sport." ($1 = 0.67 pounds) (Writing by Tony Jimenez, editing by Ed Osmond)