Series launch at Murtoa Cup day
Murtoa Cup day will open an inaugural $600,000 Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Series for Victorian racing clubs later this year.
Victoria Racing Club and Racing Victoria have confirmed Murtoa’s annual October 7 event as the Wimmera-mallee centre of the eight-leg series that also includes heats at Ballarat, Cranbourne, Seymour, Geelong, Hamilton and Sale.
The series will provide Victoria’s best up-and-coming country-trained gallopers a chance to compete for lucrative prizemoney. Each of the series heat meetings will offer $50,000 in prizemoney in 1600-metre handicap races.
A $200,000 benchmark-80 1600-metre final will be at Flemington Racecourse during Oaks Day on November 9.
Eligibility for the Murtoa 1600m benchmark-64 race will be restricted to Victorian trainers who do not have a metropolitan training base.
Horses that finish first and second at Murtoa will earn their way into the final, which replaces a race for country horses that has featured on the VRC Oaks Day program for more than a decade.
The Melbourne Cup will also visit Murtoa-marma Racing Club on Murtoa Cup day in an effort to immerse Wimmera racing fans in the atmosphere of Victoria’s Spring Racing Carnival.
VRC chairman Amanda Elliott said the club was thrilled to boost its support of country racing.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Final presents a wonderful opportunity for connections of country-trained gallopers to experience the magic of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, one of the world’s premier events,” she said.
“The VRC is also delighted to be sharing the 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup with local racegoers as part of the series.
“The VRC continues to acknowledge the important contribution regional participants make to racing, with Flemington to open its gates to residents of Victorian provincial and country areas on Saturday, June 24 for Provincial and Country Raceday.”
Racing Victoria executive general manager for racing Greg Carpenter congratulated VRC on reinvigorating racing the Oaks Day race, which he said would benefit from the industry’s continued investment in country racing.
“The VRC is to be commended for its passion in seeking to progress this series, which has been developed in partnership with Racing Victoria to enhance the profile of country racing in this state and further reward country participants,” he said.
Country Racing Victoria chief executive Scott Whiteman said the Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Series was another important step in recognising the value of country racing.