A new-look Victorian Festival of Racing is now underway, featuring a range of program enhancements designed to maximise opportunities for trainers and owners during the late summer and early autumn months.
The Festival, which officially began with C.F. Orr Stakes Day at Caulfield on Saturday, 10 February, comprises eight premium weekends of top-class racing offering a grand total of $52.8m in prizemoney and bonuses and featuring 47 Group and Listed races.
The notable changes include a revamp of the All-Star Mile (1600m), which for the first time will be run a fortnight prior to the Group 1 TAB Australian Cup (2000m) with a combined $7 million in prizemoney on offer across the two races.
Whilst those two marquee contests will be targeted by some of the country’s best middle-distance horses, opportunities abound for lower-rated horses with the Country Cups program complemented by the third edition of the lucrative Country Discovery meeting.
Headlined by the $500,000 Country Discovery (1100m), the Good Friday fixture will continue its annual rotation with Yarra Valley taking over hosting duties on 29 March.
The full 2024 Festival of Racing Program is outlined in the attached document which also includes key entry deadlines, a summary of all previously announced amendments and further details regarding the Victorian Country Cups and Sportsbet Future Stars Series'.
To view the 2024 Festival of Racing Program, click here