Australia's richest maiden race series returns for 2025

Racing Victoria (RV), Southside Racing and Sportsbet are excited to announce that the Sportsbet Future Stars will be returning to headline night racing at Sportsbet-Pakenham in January and February next year.

In its third year, the $1.2 million series will feature 12 heats over seven consecutive night meetings – two Fridays and five Thursdays – before culminating with a $300,000 final on Thursday night, 27 February 2025.

Australia’s richest maiden race series will again serve to boost promising racing careers and provide a range of owners and trainers with opportunities to win big.

It follows the recently completed Emerging Stars Series for maidens in the state’s west that was won on Sportsbet Ballarat Cup Day by the Lindsay Park-trained Just For Show.

That stable was also successful in 2023’s inaugural Sportsbet Future Stars with Marble Arch who was in the winner’s stall again at Caulfield Heath on Saturday. In the 2024 series, Mislead’s win provided a fairytale result for the small local stable of Rachael Frost.

Other graduates of the first two Sportsbet Future Stars include Gringotts, Oh Too Good, Bel Air, Eternal Flame, Von Hauke, El Soleado and Helix.

The 2025 Sportsbet Future Stars series will remain unchanged from this year and be conducted as follows:

• The series will only be open to three, four and five-year-old horses;
• There will be 12 maiden heats of $75,000 each over distances of 1200m or 1400m;
• The heats and final will feature fields of 12 with the winner of each heat automatically qualifying for the final;
• If qualified horses do not accept for the final, then their spots are offered to the highest rated second placegetters among the heats;
• The final will be run over 1400m as a Class 3 set weights contest.

The Sportsbet Future Stars Jockey Contest will also return in 2025 with riders competing for a lucrative $50,000 prize pool across the eight night meetings.

Jockey points will be awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis to the first five placegetters in each of the 12 heats, with double points on offer in the final.

The three highest point scorers will be rewarded for their riding consistency at the conclusion of the series, with the winner receiving $30,000, the runner-up earning $15,000 and $5,000 awarded to the third-placed jockey.

Jockeys will also be permitted to nominate one ‘Power Play’ across the heats again, giving them the opportunity to earn double points in that race.

Premier jockey Damian Lane took out the top prize this year from Craig Williams and Daniel Stackhouse, while Ethan Brown won the inaugural Jockey Contest in 2023.

Quotes attributable to Paul Bloodworth, RV Head of Racing

“The Sportsbet Future Stars series is a terrific opportunity for owners and trainers to score lucrative maiden wins with their horses, and we are delighted for its return in 2025.

“The first two years of the series have produced a considerable amount of emerging talent and we’ve seen graduates like Gringotts, Oh Too Good, Bel Air and Marble Arch to the fore over the last month.

“Sportsbet Future Stars is also a great way to create a focal point of night racing at Sportsbet-Pakenham upon its resumption in January, and we have seen the previous iterations create flow-on benefits for engagement and turnover across these meetings.

“On behalf of Racing Victoria, I’d like to thank Sportsbet for their ongoing support of the Sportsbet Future Stars and the Victorian racing industry as a whole.”

Quotes attributable to Nathan Arundell, Chief Commercial Officer - Sportsbet

“The Sportsbet Future Stars is a fantastic collaborative initiative between Racing Victoria, Southside Racing and Sportsbet that has produced some very promising gallopers in the first two years of the series.

“The Sportsbet Future Stars is a great opportunity for owners, trainers and jockeys to secure significant prizemoney and Sportsbet is thrilled that the series is returning for a third year, Thursday and Friday nights under lights at Sportsbet-Pakenham.”

Quotes attributable to Alastair Dwyer, Southside Racing General Manager - Racing

"Southside Racing is thrilled to announce the return of the hugely successful Sportsbet Future Stars Series in partnership with Sportsbet and Racing Victoria.

"After two years of incredible success stories, we can’t wait to see the emerging talent that the 2025 series will showcase.

“As a highlight of Southside Racing Pakenham's night racing calendar, this series promises an exciting storyline for fans and punters to follow throughout the new year."

The program for the 2025 Sportsbet Future Stars Series is as follows: