ON TRACK FOR CITY V CITY SERIES
A NEW race series pitting four regional Queensland cities against each other will be announced by Racing Queensland on Tuesday.
The Coral Coast Shield will be staged in Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville and Cairns in October and November before the final is held at the Townsville Turf Club.
Twelve heats will be run ahead of the final on Saturday, November 28, with each city accruing points across the series.
Double points will be on offer at the final, with almost $500,000 in prizemoney up for grabs across the series.
The winning city will also secure $25,000 to go towards improving their patron or racing facilities, while each club will also boast a nominated charity partner which will share in a further $25,000.
Racing Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the series had been designed to create a unique intrastate rivalry.
“The Coral Coast Shield is a fantastic addition to our racing calendar,” Hinchliffe said.
“It will bring a different dimension to racing with this new and exciting format.
“In years gone by, we have seen the way in which the North Queensland Games has been fiercely contested and we look forward to the Coral Coast Shield stoking the same fires of competition among four proud cities.”
The final will rotate to the other cities from next year.
Racing Queensland chief executive officer Brendan Parnell suggested the new racing series would pit city against city, trainer against trainer and jockey against jockey.