Melbourne Cup Carnival to end with VRC Champions Stakes Day

[Wandering Eyes]

The Melbourne Cup Carnival will now feature a $10 million program on the final day. (Scott Barbour/Racing Photos)

Racing Victoria (RV) on Tuesday announced significant prizemoney increases and changes to race dates, including some major alterations to the Melbourne Cup Carnival schedule.

Record prizemoney figures are set to be reached next season, with $314 million in winnings and bonuses on offer, ranging from country races all the way up to Group 1 level.

One notable change is the programming of the famous Melbourne Cup Carnival, with the final day of the four-day festival now set to be known as VRC Champions Stakes Day.

The Cantala Stakes (1600m) will now be run under weight-for-age (WFA) conditions as the Champions Mile, while it has also been moved from Derby Day to Stakes Day.

The Champions Sprint (1200m) and Champions Stakes (2000m) will also be run under WFA conditions, while all three races will come with a $3 million purse.

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“Racing Victoria is thrilled to announce an increase of over $26 million in prizemoney and VOBIS bonuses on offer alongside some exciting programming changes for the 2022-23 racing season,” RV Chief Executive Giles Thompson said.

“Our ability to provide these prizemoney increases comes from the hard work of industry participants in continuing to deliver a quality product that has attracted outstanding engagement through a challenging two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In formulating our prizemoney structure, our priority was to ensure that any increases are sustainable and that a broad cross section of races, from country minimums to Group 1 races, were able to receive an uplift and I’m pleased that we have been able to achieve that.

“The 2022-23 race dates have been constructed with a focus on continuing to build customer engagement, exploring opportunities to grow wagering returns to the industry, and ensuring we continue to deliver quality racing especially across our peak periods.

“We look forward to an exciting finale to the Melbourne Cup Carnival, which will now see three prized Group 1 races contested on VRC Champions Stakes Day which will offer $10 million in prizemoney.”

Other feature races have received upgrades too.

The purse for the Manikato Stakes (1200m) has doubled from $1 million to $2 million, while the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) is now worth $3 million.

Also doubling in prizemoney is the time-honoured Australian Cup (2000m), with the autumn feature now worth $3 million also.

The Australian Cup will also be moved to the last weekend in March, allowing horses to go from 1600m of the All-Star Mile to the 2000m of the Australian Cup a week later.

“The Caulfield Guineas is the most coveted three-year-old mile in Australia and it has received a prizemoney boost in recognition of its status, while the Cox Plate Carnival has been further enhanced with the Manikato Stakes becoming the richest race under lights in Australia,” Thompson said.

“We have also listened to participants and racing fans regarding the structure of our feature races during the Festival of Racing and are pleased to deliver a program that will extend the quality of racing deeper into autumn with the move of the time-honoured Australian Cup to after the All-Star Mile.

“Together with our clubs and stakeholder groups, we are united in seeking to grow Victorian racing and reward those that participate within our state and the race dates and prizemoney increases announced today give people plenty of great reasons to do so.”

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