The Jockey Club Information Systems in association with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities have published the 2025 International Cataloguing Standards Book, also known as The Blue Book. The book is produced annually and provides a listing of stakes races from each country that will be accorded group/graded or listed black-type status in sales catalogs using standards approved by the Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers.
See the 2025 version of The Blue Book and find links to books from 1998 through 2024.
Total black-type stakes in the United States slipped slightly from 1,420 in 2023 to 1,386 in 2024, accounting for about 4.5% of the total races. The U.S. offered 425 graded stakes in 2024 that paid an average of $243,629 for first-place money. Grade 1 stakes in the U.S. paid an average of $497,185 for first-place money.
Hong Kong continues to pay the highest average first-placed money for its group stakes among the world's Part I racing jurisdictions, awarding an average $793,139 for 31 races in 2024. The average first-place money paid in 2024 was 6.4% higher than what Hong Kong paid in 2023.
Publication of The Blue Book is coordinated by the International Grading and Race Planning Committee with input from racing authorities worldwide. The first book was published in 1983.
