V’landys reveals mammoth vision for The Big Dance
SYDNEY’S newest racing jewel, The Big Dance, will rival The Everest as the biggest race day of the year and stop punters from travelling to Victoria for the Melbourne Cup.
That’s the opinion of Racing NSW boss Peter V’landys who is preparing for the biggest Tuesday crowd at Royal Randwick in decades.
“If we’re comparing the first Tuesday in November from 2019, which was before Covid hit, this Tuesday is up 206 per cent in ticket pre-sales,’’ V’landys said.
“We’ll get one of the biggest crowds ever on a Tuesday at Randwick.
“I think the Big Dance can get to where The Everest is. I’m sure in the next five years it will get to that.”
The sixth-running of The Everest, held two weeks ago at Randwick and won by Giga Kick, recorded a modern-day crowd record of 46,221.
Tuesday’s inaugural running of The Big Dance boasts a field of the best Country Cup winners and second-placed thoroughbreds from 25 selected races across regional NSW, racing for the $2m prizemoney.
The 1600m race has been described as the “Melbourne Cup of 25 years ago” when local horses dominated the field of the famous race.
Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller dubbed The Big Dance a “big deal”.
“It’s giving these horses that wouldn’t be running in the biggest of races a chance to stand up and say, ‘here I am,’ and giving owners a chance to be running for $2m,” Waller said.
V’landys said the creation of the Big Dance, strategically held on Melbourne Cup Day, gave Sydney punters a new alternative to the Spring Carnival in Melbourne.
“The first Tuesday in November is when mum, dads, tradies and office workers go out for lunch, to the pub or club, so what we’re giving them is another product,’’ he said.
“It’s the casual punter that is going to have one bet and that’s it.
“We’re hoping they will also become attracted to the Big Dance.”